English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 18/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell
you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of
Christ will by no means lose the reward.
Mark 09/38-50: "John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting
out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following
us.’But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my
name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us
is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink
because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. ‘If any of
you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it
would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you
were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to
the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is
better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into
hell.+t,+u And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for
you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be
thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
‘For everyone will be salted with fire."Salt is good; but if salt has lost its
saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with
one another.’"
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 17-18/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video: The plight of Boutros Khawand and Lebanon’s
arbitrarily detained in Assad's jails will never be forgotten.
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: The plight of Boutros Khawand and Lebanon’s
arbitrarily detained in Assad's jails will never be forgotten.
9 killed, 2,800 injured as Hezbollah pagers explode
Pager Explosion: Three Questions for Khalil Sehnaoui
Iran ambassador to Lebanon wounded in pager explosion: state media
Israel didn't tell U.S. before Hezbollah pager attack, officials said
Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after pager blasts kill eight, injure thousands
across Lebanon
Exploding pagers injure hundreds in attack targeting Hezbollah members, Lebanese
security source says
Military Operation Needed to Stop Hezbollah’s Daily Attacks, Top IDF General
Says
Egypt affirms keenness on Lebanon’s security, preventing violation of its
sovereignty, statement says
Le Drian Contacts Before Visiting Beirut
Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal as officials warn of a
wider operation
Shin Bet thwarted bomb attack by Hezbollah against ex-senior security official
14,000 Gaza amputees will get rapid prosthetic limbs using UK tech
Is The US Honestly Warning Netanyhau against a War in Lebanon? Not so sure
U.S. warns Netanyahu against starting a war in Lebanon
Israel adds safe return of northern residents to war goals /The military is
discussing an expanded operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Full-scale war with Hezbollah is closer now than ever before - analysis
What Is a Pager?
Latest Toll of Pager Explosions: 11 Killed, 4000 Wounded, Hezbollah Accuses
Israel
Cabinet Condemns Pagers Attack, Reverses Decision on Syrian Migrants’ Education
Lebanese Officials React to Israeli Pager Attack on Hezbollah
Lazzarini in Lebanon: The Situation Is Worrying and We Fear the Worst
Israeli Supply Chain Infiltration Likely Behind Hezbollah Pager Blasts
Following Pager Blasts, All Educational Establishments Closed Tomorrow
Elie Mahfoud’s Handrail Against Nawaf Moussaoui
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 17-18/2024
Israel atomic chief: Iran keeps deceiving IAEA, West on verge of nuke threshold
Gideon Sa'ar is 'unqualified' to serve as defense minister, Eisenkot charges
Netanyahu’s approval rating deteriorates at home and abroad
UN considers resolution demanding Israel end its occupation of Palestinian
territories
Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack
Students describe attack by settlers on West Bank elementary school
Israel business leaders urge Netanyahu to keep defence chief Gallant
Jordan armed forces downs drone attempting to cross Jordanian territory
Widespread relief as rescuers tow burning oil tanker to safety in Red Sea
CAIR demands right to terrorize synagogues/What kind of organization needs to
make the case for harassing Jews?
India condemns Iran supreme leader's comments on treatment of minorities
Iran releases Austrian citizen from prison before end of sentence
New Iranian FM pledges ‘unlimited’ support for regional terrorism
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 17-18/2024
But No Boycotts on Russia, China or Iran: The Staggering Hypocrisy of
Starmer, Trudeau and Scholz/ Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute./September 17,
2024
In fragile Jordan, anti-Israel mood is a boon for Islamists/Canaan Lidor/JNS//September
17, 2024
Why isn’t Biden enforcing his own sanctions against Iran?/Emanuele Ottolenghi/The
Hill/September 17/2024
How Israel Lost a Battle to Al Jazeera — and How It Must Do Better Next
Time/David Adesnik/The Algemeiner/September 17/2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 17-18/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video:
The plight of Boutros Khawand and Lebanon’s arbitrarily detained in Assad's
jails will never be forgotten.
Elias Bejjani/September 15/2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJj88KC4u8&t=11s
On September 15, 1992, Boutros Khawand, a senior official in the Lebanese Kataeb
Party, bid farewell to his wife, Janet, and left his home in Hourj Thabet. It
was an ordinary morning, but little did he know it would be the last time his
family saw him. At 8:30 AM, as Khawand approached his car, a group of eight
armed, unmasked men ambushed him. Despite his attempts to resist, they forcibly
abducted him and drove off in a van. Since that fateful moment, Khawand’s fate
has remained a mystery.
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video: The plight of Boutros Khawand and Lebanon’s arbitrarily detained in Assad's
jails will never be forgotten.
Elias Bejjani/September 15/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/134486/
Use your bodies for the glory of God
The First Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians /06/18-19):
" Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the
body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or don’t
you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
On September 15, 1992, Boutros Khawand, a senior official in the Lebanese Kataeb
Party, bid farewell to his wife, Janet, and left his home in Hourj Thabet. It
was an ordinary morning, but little did he know it would be the last time his
family saw him. At 8:30 AM, as Khawand approached his car, a group of eight
armed, unmasked men ambushed him. Despite his attempts to resist, they forcibly
abducted him and drove off in a van. Since that fateful moment, Khawand’s fate
has remained a mystery.
Boutros Khawand’s abduction is not an isolated incident; it is emblematic of a
broader human tragedy that has haunted Lebanon for decades because of the
Syrian, Palestinian and Iranian evil occupations. Thousands of Lebanese citizens
were kidnapped by the Syrian occupation during its presence in Lebanon and
imprisoned in Syria’s notorious jails. These individuals were forcibly
disappeared, with no official acknowledgment from the Syrian regime regarding
their whereabouts. Furthermore, the regime has consistently denied human rights
organizations access to investigate their fates. Under both Hafez al-Assad and
his son Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian regime has maintained this cruel policy of
denial, deepening the wounds inflicted on Lebanon.
Thousands of Lebanese—clergymen, soldiers, political activists, journalists, and
ordinary citizens—were abducted by Syrian forces without trial or charges. These
victims remain at the mercy of a regime that targeted anyone suspected of
opposition or disloyalty. Numerous local, regional, and international human
rights organizations have tried to gain access to Syria’s prisons to uncover the
truth about these detainees. Yet, the criminal Assad regime has consistently
blocked all efforts to shine a light on this dark chapter.
The Assad regime, in the eras of both father and son, late Hafez and the current
Bashar, has shown itself to be devoid of humanity. For decades, it has
perpetrated acts of repression, terror, torture, and disappearance against
thousands of innocent people—both Lebanese and Syrians. What makes this tragedy
even more heartbreaking is the regime’s ongoing refusal to acknowledge the
existence and fate of these prisoners, as though attempting to erase their
memory and silence the calls for justice.
The fate of Boutros Khawand, along with many other Lebanese held in Assad’s
prisons, remains unknown. Are they alive? Have they perished under torture? No
one knows—except their captors. The Syrian regime, which has ruled with an iron
fist for decades, refuses to provide any information about these disappeared
individuals, ignoring the desperate pleas of families who have spent years
searching for their loved ones.
While the Syrian regime bears much of the blame, the responsibility for the
kidnapping and disappearance of Lebanese citizens does not rest solely with
them. Many Lebanese political forces, especially those in power during the
Syrian occupation, were complicit in these crimes. Numerous parties and figures
collaborated with the Syrian regime, handing over Lebanese citizens to Syrian
intelligence, betraying Lebanon’s sovereignty and its people’s rights. Some of
these collaborators remain in positions of power today, having not only shielded
the truth but also exploited the suffering of the families of the disappeared
for personal or political gain.
It is tragic that the issue of Lebanon’s disappeared risks fading into
obscurity, especially with the lack of political will to pursue justice.
However, there is no doubt that this wound will remain etched in the collective
memory of the Lebanese people. They will continue to seek the truth and hold
those responsible accountable—chief among them the Assad regime’s symbols and
every Lebanese figure who played a role in this crime.
Boutros Khawand is one of the most poignant examples of this humanitarian
tragedy. More than three decades have passed since his disappearance, yet the
question remains: Where is Boutros Khawand? Will he ever return to his family?
One undeniable truth is that the Assad regime knows the fate of Boutros Khawand,
just as it knows the fates of the thousands of Lebanese who vanished in its
prisons.
In conclusion, the Lebanese people will not stop demanding the truth, nor will
they forgive those Lebanese Trojans who participated in the abduction of their
citizens or in covering up the Assad regime’s crimes. The Assad regime and its
local Trojan allies will forever be remembered by the free people of Lebanon as
symbols of betrayal and injustice. Meanwhile, the plight of Boutros Khawand and
Lebanon’s missing will never be forgotten.
9 killed, 2,800 injured as Hezbollah pagers explode
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/September 17, 2024
BEIRUT: At least nine people were killed and 2,800 injured, many seriously, when
handheld pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday in an incident
described as the group’s “biggest security breach yet.”The explosions sparked
widespread panic in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as areas in the
south of Lebanon, and in the Bekaa, especially Ali Al-Nahri and Rayak. Hundreds
of people were rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, with medical reports
saying that some of the injured lost limbs in the explosions. Hezbollah members
in Syria were also targeted, according to Syrian media.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and government ministers were told about
the security breach during a cabinet meeting. Mikati ordered the Minister of
Health Firas Abiad to leave the session and mobilize medical services. Abiad
later issued a statement saying that nine people were killed in the explosions,
while another 2,800 were injured, including 200 critical cases. Iran’s
ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those injured when his pager
exploded, Mehr News Agency reported. The communication devices exploded while
they were in members’ hands or in their pockets, leaving many writhing on the
ground in agony. Security cameras in shops and on the streets showed people
injured while walking, standing, or sitting. A camera in a supermarket captured
the moment a device exploded as a man approached a cashier. The unprecedented
security breach led to chaos. Appeals were made for blood donations, and the
health ministry told hospitals to ensure emergency departments were prepared.
Hospitals in the south reached full capacity, and the injured were transferred
to Sidon and Beirut. Many of those seeking treatment arrived in civilian
vehicles or on motorcycles. In an initial statement, Lebanon’s Internal Security
Forces urged Lebanese to keep the roads clear so the injured could be taken to
hospital. Hezbollah turned to old wireless devices, or pagers, fitted with
lithium batteries after Israel targeted and killed a number of its leaders and
members by hacking cell phones and cameras connected to the internet. The pager
is a small, easy-to-carry automatic device used to receive short messages.
Hezbollah adopted it because it was believed to untraceable. The Lebanese Red
Cross said that more than 30 ambulances transported and treated the injured in
the south, the Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Hezbollah members in
areas where the explosions took place tried to stop journalists and onlookers
from photographing the injured. More than one Lebanese security source denied
that any Israeli military drones were flying over the southern suburbs of Beirut
at the time the pagers exploded. In an initial statement, Hezbollah said that
three people, including a young girl, died in the explosions.The group said that
its specialist units are conducting a wide-ranging security and scientific
investigation to determine the cause of the explosions. Hezbollah said that “it
is at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its steadfast
people.”
Pager Explosion: Three Questions for Khalil Sehnaoui
Sana Richa Choucair/This Is Beirut/September 17, 2024
More than two thousand people were injured, and eight were killed following the
explosion of pagers, also know as beepers, used by Hezbollah members on Tuesday
afternoon. This is Beirut spoke with cybersecurity expert Khalil Sehnaoui to
better understand the incident.
What is a pager, and why does Hezbollah use it? A pager is a mostly one-way
communication device that receives text messages or alerts. Though widely used
in the 1990s and 2000s, it continues to serve specific industries, such as
hospitals and healthcare settings, due to its reliability in quickly delivering
notifications. In any conflict zone, leveraging traditional communication
methods can be a savvy strategy for bypassing modern surveillance systems. Their
distinct advantage lies in their independence from the internet, which helps
maintain security and discretion. Additionally, conventional communication
systems are often overlooked. This approach naturally evades suspicion and
monitoring, much like using carrier pigeons to send messages.
How do you infiltrate a pager?
First, you would have to discover its use. A spy might have spotted a device on
one of Hezbollah’s members. Several scenarios could then be considered. If the
pager’s model is known, a message could be sent to activate a function that
overloads the device, causing the battery to overheat and potentially explode –
similar to the incidents observed with certain Samsung devices in recent years.
Another possibility is that the devices were tampered with before being
delivered. According to the information available so far, the pagers that
exploded might have come from the same recently purchased batch. If so, a
vulnerability may have been intentionally embedded in the system and later
activated by a specific message sent to the device, causing it to overheat.
Additionally, explosives experts, having observed the nature of the explosions
and the damage caused, have suggested that a small amount of explosive material
could have been concealed within the devices. Thus, the devices may have been
sabotaged before they were sold. Are pagers used by healthcare workers also
vulnerable to these infiltrations? In theory, yes – if the vulnerability
involves battery overheating, those pagers could also be at risk. However, the
level of risk depends on the device model and the communication frequencies in
use. For instance, many modern pagers come with built-in safety features, such
as automatic shutdown mechanisms if overheating occurs. Regardless, it’s crucial
for all pager users to stay alert for any signs of malfunction, overheating or
any strange messages. As a precaution, turning off these devices for 24 hours
could be wise until more information is available and the situation clarified.
Iran ambassador to Lebanon wounded in pager explosion:
state media
AFP/September 17, 2024
TEHGAN: Iran’s ambassador to Beirut was wounded in a pager explosion Tuesday but
his injuries were not serious, state media reported. “Iranian ambassador to
Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was injured in a pager explosion,” state television said,
adding that his wounds were “superficial” and that he was “conscious and in no
danger.”Pagers belonging to members of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah exploded simultaneously Tuesday, wounding hundreds of its members
across the country. A source close to the group, requesting anonymity to discuss
sensitive matters, blamed the blasts on an “Israeli breach” of its
communications.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israeli forces since its
Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, sparking war in Gaza.
Israel didn't tell U.S. before Hezbollah pager attack,
officials said
Barak Ravid/Axios/september 17/2024
Medics collect blood donations in Beirut's southern suburb on September 17,
2024, after explosions hit locations around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border
tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.
Medics collect blood donations in Beirut's southern suburb on Sept. 17, 2024.
Israel didn't inform the Biden administration ahead of its intelligence
operation that included exploding thousands of Hezbollah members' pager devices,
two U.S. officials told Axios. Why it matters: The explosions killed at least
eleven people, including a child, and wounded 4,000 others, among them many
members of Hezbollah and its military units. The U.S. "was not aware of this
operation and was not involved" in it, U.S. State Department spokesperson
Matthew Miller said, adding that the U.S. is "still gathering information" about
the explosions in Lebanon. He didn't confirm that Israel was behind the attack.
The operation also shut down a significant part of Hezbollah's military command
and control system. Hezbollah accused Israel of conducting the attack and
pledged to retaliate. Israeli officials said they are aware that a major
escalation on the northern border is possible after the attack and said Israel
Defense Forces are on high alert for a possible response by Hezbollah. Several
hours after the explosions in Lebanon, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
spoke to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on the phone and discussed the
situation, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
Driving the news: The operation was approved earlier this week during security
meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of
his cabinet and the heads of the security services, a source with knowledge
said. It took place a day after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and
warned Netanyahu of the consequences of a major escalation in Lebanon. On
Tuesday, Netanyahu and Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spent several
hours at the IDF command center in Tel Aviv, an Israeli official said.
Between the lines: The Israeli security cabinet decided on Monday night to
update the goals of the war to include the safe return of displaced Israelis to
their homes on the border with Lebanon. "Israel will continue to act to
implement this goal," the Prime Minister's office said.
The decision to update the goals of the war was meant to signal that Israel is
going to turn its attention from Gaza to the Lebanese front, Israeli officials
said. Behind the scenes: A source with knowledge of the issue said Israel
conducted the operation in order to take its fighting against Hezbollah into new
phase, while attempting to still not escalate to the level of an all out war,
one source said. The Israeli operation was aimed at undermining Hezbollah's
confidence and creating a feeling in the ranks of the militia that it is totally
penetrated by Israeli intelligence services, the source said.
The source said Israeli intelligence services assessed ahead of the operation
that Hezbollah would likely retaliate with a major attack against Israel.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the latest details from the
Lebanese Ministry of Health about the number of people killed and injured in the
attack.
Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after pager blasts kill
eight, injure thousands across Lebanon
Laila Bassam/September 17, 2024
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Militant group Hezbollah promised to retaliate against Israel
after accusing it of detonating pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at
least eight people and wounding nearly 3,000 others who included fighters and
Iran's envoy to Beirut.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the late afternoon
detonation of the pagers - handheld devices that Hezbollah and others in Lebanon
use to send messages - as an "Israeli aggression". Hezbollah said Israel would
receive "its fair punishment" for the blasts. The Israeli military, which has
been engaged in cross-border fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah since the start
of the Gaza war in October, declined to respond to questions about the
detonations. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Tuesday that eight
people were killed and 2,750 wounded in the pager explosions, 200 of them
critically. Hezbollah in an earlier statement confirmed the deaths included at
least two of its fighters and a little girl. The pagers exploded in southern
Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh and the eastern Bekaa
Valley - all Hezbollah strongholds.
In one instance, closed-circuit surveillance video carried by regional
broadcasters showed a person paying at a grocery store as what appeared to be a
small handheld device placed next to the cashier exploded. A Hezbollah official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the
"biggest security breach" for the group in nearly a year of conflict with
Israel. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is waging war with Israel in
Gaza, said the pager blasts were an "escalation" that will only lead Israel to
"failure and defeat". The U.S. State Department said it was too early to say how
the pager attacks in Lebanon might impact efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
It urged Iran -- which with its allies Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed
groups in Iraq has formed an "Axis of Resistance" against Israeli and U.S.
influence -- not to take advantage of any incident to raise instability. Without
commenting directly on the explosions in Lebanon, an Israeli military spokesman
said the chief of staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, met with senior officers on
Tuesday evening to assess the situation. No policy change was announced but
"vigilance must continue to be maintained", he said. Hezbollah fighters have
been using pagers as a low-tech means of communication in the belief they could
evade Israeli location tracking, two sources familiar with the group's
operations told Reuters earlier this year. A pager is a wireless
telecommunications device that receives and displays messages.
MANY INJURED
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, suffered a "superficial injury" in
Tuesday's pager blasts and was under observation in hospital, Iran's
semi-official Fars news agency said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the
report. The casualties included Hezbollah fighters who are the sons of top
officials from the armed group, two security sources told Reuters. One of those
killed was the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar,
they said. "This is not a security targeting of one, two or three people. This
is a targeting of an entire nation," senior Hezbollah official Hussein Khalil
said while paying his condolences for Ammar's son. Lebanese broadcaster Al
Jadeed cited Ammar as promising consequences. "We will deal with the enemy in
the language it understands," he added. Tuesday's blasts added to a hefty price
paid over the past year by Hezbollah. The group has lost more than 400 fighters
in Israeli strikes, including its top commander Fuad Shukr in July. Security
sources in Lebanon said two more Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli
strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Israel's domestic
security agency said it had foiled a plot by Hezbollah to assassinate a former
senior defence official in the coming days. The Shin Bet agency, which did not
name the official, said in a statement it had seized an explosive device
attached to a remote detonation system, using a mobile phone and a camera that
Hezbollah had planned to operate from Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it wants to
avoid all-out conflict with Israel but that only an end to the Gaza war will
stop the cross-border clashes. Gaza ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked after
months of talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
SCREAMING IN PAIN
After Tuesday's blasts, a Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the
southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, amid widespread panic. At
Mount Lebanon Hospital just outside Beirut, a Reuters reporter saw motorcycles
rushing to the emergency room and people with bloodied hands screaming in pain.
The head of the Nabatieh public hospital in the south of the country, Hassan
Wazni, told Reuters that around 40 wounded people were being treated at his
facility. The wounds included injuries to the face, eyes and limbs. Hezbollah
fired missiles at Israel immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on
Israel that triggered the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging
fire constantly ever since, while avoiding a major escalation. Tens of thousands
of people have been displaced from towns and villages on both sides of the
border by the hostilities.
On Tuesday, Israel added to its formal war goals the return of citizens to their
homes near the border with Lebanon.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Maya Gebeily, Emilie Madi and Tom Perry; Writing by
Nadine Awadalla, Clauda Tanios and Michael Georgy; Editing by Angus MacSwan,
Gareth Jones and Cynthia Osterman)
Exploding pagers injure hundreds in attack targeting
Hezbollah members, Lebanese security source says
CNN’s Charbel Mallo, Tamara Qiblawi, Lauren Kent/September
17/2024
Hundreds of people were injured Tuesday in an attack targeting the pagers of
Hezbollah members, a Lebanese security source told CNN. Iran’s Ambassador to
Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those injured in Beirut, according to
semi-official Iranian media outlet Mehr News. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has
urged citizens who possess pagers to discard them and warned hospitals to be on
“high alert.”Explosions reportedly occurred in a southern suburb of Beirut known
as Dahiyeh, according to Reuters news. NNA reported that “hacked” pager devices
exploded in the towns of Ali Al-Nahri and Riyaq in Lebanon’s central Beqaa
valley, resulting in a significant number of injuries. All three locations are
Hezbollah strongholds. The Israeli military, which has engaged in tit-for-tat
strikes with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza last October, said it
would not be commenting on the incident.
Health workers across Lebanon were asked to report urgently to work given the
“large number of injured people being transferred to hospitals” following the
pager explosions, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Officials also called
for people to donate blood in anticipation of increased need.
Military Operation Needed to Stop Hezbollah’s Daily
Attacks, Top IDF General Says
FDD/September 17/2024
The head of Israel’s Northern Command is pushing for Israeli officials to act
against Hezbollah threats by creating a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, The
Times of Israel reported on September 16. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Maj. Gen.
Ori Gordin “has reportedly begun actively lobbying leaders to okay a ground
offensive into southern Lebanon with the goal of securing a buffer zone and
halting over 11 months of incessant attacks on towns and communities in the
Galilee, amid disagreements over the matter among politicians and defense
brass,” the report noted. At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant spoke with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and said that the time
frame for an agreement to prevent a war in the north was closing amid escalating
Hezbollah attacks. Since Hezbollah launched its attacks on Israel in the wake of
the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, 26 Israeli civilians have been killed
along with 20 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Expert Analysis
“Hezbollah’s daily attacks for 11 months are pushing Israel to consider a large
military operation to clear these Iran-backed terrorists from the border so that
Israeli civilians, who were evacuated following the Hamas atrocities of October
7, can return to their homes in peace.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow
“Israel cannot place itself in a position where it allows Hezbollah and the
Iran-led Axis of Resistance to control the lives of Israelis in the north. While
a ceasefire will likely lead to a cessation of Hezbollah’s attacks, a dangerous
precedent may be set where the Lebanese group will claim victory, asserting that
it forced Jerusalem to capitulate to its demands of a ceasefire in Gaza for
quiet on its northern border. This narrative may lead to Hezbollah repeating a
similar strategy in the future, undermining Israel’s security.” — Joe Truzman,
Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal
U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein Meets With Israeli Leaders
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a meeting with U.S. envoy
Amos Hochstein on Monday, September 16. In advance of their talks, Netanyahu
said that the situation in northern Israel “cannot continue.” Earlier in the
day, Hochstein met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who told him that
the more than 60,000 Israelis displaced by Hezbollah attacks would only be able
to securely return to their homes through a military operation. Meanwhile,
Israel’s Defense Ministry said on September 16 that it had equipped 97 standby
squads of local security professionals who are tasked with defending communities
in the north in case of local threats. On the same day, Hezbollah launched a
drone that struck northern Israel, sparking a fire in the Upper Galilee region.
Egypt affirms keenness on Lebanon’s security, preventing
violation of its sovereignty, statement says
Reuters/September 17, 2024
CAIRO: Egypt affirmed its keenness on Lebanon’s security and stability and
preventing the violation of its sovereignty from ‘any outside party’, the
foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, shortly after deadly pager
blasts in Lebanon that killed at least eight people.
Le Drian Contacts Before Visiting Beirut
Bassam Abou Zeid/This Is Beirut/September 17, 2024
According to French diplomatic sources, French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le
Drian will arrive in Beirut early next week for a visit of up to three days.
This visit represents a renewed push to urge Lebanese leaders to elect a
president before the United States elections on November 5. Furthermore,
“Lebanon should not wait for the outcome of the US elections. Swift action is
needed to resolve this issue, as it will have a positive impact on the situation
in Lebanon.”Le Drian is set to arrive in Lebanon with the backing of the Quintet
– comprising the US, France, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Quintet has
underscored that while it remains concerned about Lebanon, it cannot replace
Lebanese efforts or offer solutions to the presidential deadlock. Instead, these
countries have pledged to intensify efforts to bridge gaps among Lebanese
factions, relying on domestic initiatives related to resolving this issue.
Coordination among the Quintet members has been underway, starting with a
meeting between Le Drian and Saudi Royal Court adviser Nizar al-Aloula. This was
followed by a phone call with US envoy Amos Hochstein, during which they
discussed the Lebanese presidential election and the developments in southern
Lebanon amidst the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
Moreover, Quintet members, through their ambassadors in Beirut, outlined their
coordinated efforts to address the situation in Lebanon and the wider region.
Each ambassador detailed their country’s contributions, revealing a shared goal:
electing a president in Lebanon, ending the conflict on the southern front, as
well as halting the war in Gaza. Some ambassadors provided in-depth insights
into these efforts, with the Egyptian and Qatari ambassadors particularly
emphasizing their initiatives to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. This, they
suggested, could also facilitate a ceasefire in Lebanon and expedite the
presidential election process.
Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal
as officials warn of a wider operation
Josef Federman And Julia Frankel/The Associated Press/September 17, 2024
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that halting Hezbollah's attacks in the
country's north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official
war goal, as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon that could
ignite an all-out conflict.
Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to take heavier military action to
halt the near-daily attacks, which began shortly after the outbreak of the
nearly yearlong Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel has regularly launched
airstrikes on Lebanon in response and has targeted and killed senior Hezbollah
commanders.
As recently as last month it appeared a full-blown war was imminent.
Tuesday's statement by Israel's security Cabinet signaled a tougher stance at a
time when Israeli leaders have stepped up their warnings. But it also appeared
to be largely symbolic and may not herald an immediate change in policy.
The tit-for-tat strikes have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides
of the Israeli-Lebanon border. Hezbollah has said it would halt the attacks if
there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but those talks have repeatedly bogged down.
The United States has pressed for restraint even as it has rushed military aid
to Israel, warning its close ally that a wider war would not achieve its goals.
Israeli media have meanwhile reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
considering firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replacing him with Gideon
Saar, the leader of a small right-wing party who is seen as more hawkish. That
would be the biggest leadership shakeup in Israel since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack
triggered the war in Gaza and set off wider regional tensions.
The announcement on Lebanon came after Israel's security Cabinet met late into
the night. It said the Cabinet has “updated the objectives of the war" to
include safely returning the residents of the north to their homes.
“Israel will continue to act to implement this objective,” it said.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who has made several visits to Lebanon and Israel to
try to ease tensions, met with Netanyahu on Monday.
Hochstein told Netanyahu that intensifying the conflict with Hezbollah would not
help return Israelis evacuated from the border area to their homes, according to
a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private
talks.
According to the official, Hochstein argued that Netanyahu risked sparking a
broad and protracted regional conflict if he moved forward with a full-scale war
in Lebanon and said the Biden administration remained committed to finding a
diplomatic solution in conjunction with a Gaza cease-fire or on its own.
Netanyahu told Hochstein that residents cannot return without “a fundamental
change in the security situation in the north,” according to a statement from
the prime minister's office. It said that while Netanyahu “appreciates and
respects" U.S. support, Israel will “do what is necessary to safeguard its
security."
Defense Minister Gallant has meanwhile said the focus of the conflict is
shifting from Gaza to Israel's north. He told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin this week that time is running out for an agreement with Hezbollah,
saying “the trajectory is clear.”
Hezbollah has said that while it does not want a wider war it is prepared for
one. Raed Berro, a member of Hezbollah’s bloc in the Lebanese parliament, said
Monday that the militant group “is ready for confrontation and has a lot in its
pocket to deter the enemy and protect Lebanon in case Netanyahu thinks of
expanding the war.”
The war in Gaza began when Hamas launched a surprise attack into southern
Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Militants are
still holding around 100 captives, a third of whom are believed to be dead,
after releasing most of the rest during a cease-fire last year.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians in the
territory since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry does
not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little
over half of those killed were women and children.
Iran supports Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups across the region,
which have carried out strikes on Israeli and U.S. targets in solidarity with
the Palestinians. A missile launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on
Sunday set off air raid sirens in central Israel without causing casualties.
Israel has hinted at a military response.
Israel and Iran traded fire directly for the first time in April, and Iran has
threatened to avenge the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion
in Tehran in July. The targeted killing was widely blamed on Israel, which has
not said whether it was involved.
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have spent most of this year trying to broker an
agreement in which Hamas would release the hostages in exchange for a lasting
cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel.
President Joe Biden endorsed the framework of the agreement in May and the U.N.
Security Council backed it days later. But since then, both Israel and Hamas
have accused each other of making new and unacceptable demands, and the talks
appear to be at an impasse.
*Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Abby Sewell in Beirut
contributed to this report.
Shin Bet thwarted bomb attack by Hezbollah against
ex-senior security official
Elisha Ben Kimon|/Ynetnews/September 17/2024
The bombing attack was to be carried out in the coming days; Shin Bet also
reveals that detonation of bomb in Yarkon Parklast September was attempted
terror attack as well
The Shin Bet thwarted an attack by Hezbollah against a former senior security
figure using a Claymore anti-personnel mine, which was intended to be carried
out in the coming days, the security agency announced on Tuesday afternoon. In
the Shin Bet's dramatic announcement on Tuesday, it was also revealed for the
first time that the explosion in Yarkon Park last September, on the eve of Rosh
Hashanah was also an attempted attack by Hezbollah. The Shin Bet stated that
"operational preparation and the activity of the forces prevented the attack in
the final stages of implementation. The target of the attack has been updated by
the security forces and is being updated accordingly." It was also reported that
"at this stage it is not possible to provide further details. Until now, the
information regarding the previous attack in Yarkon Park was covered under a gag
order, but now the Shin Bet has revealed that an explosive device "similar in
characteristics" to the one seized now was used in the September 15, 2023
attack, which ended without casualties. The assessment in the security system is
that the Hezbollah elements involved in the current incident were behind the
attack a year ago. "It should be emphasized that the infrastructure was under
surveillance for a long time to monitor and thwart Hezbollah's terrorist
activity," the Shin Bet said.
The attack in Yarkon Park last year - which testifies to the great boldness of
Hezbollah even before the outbreak of the war three weeks later after the Hamas
massacre on October 7 -took place about six months after another bold attack by
the Lebanese terrorist organization.
That attack, in March 2023, happened at the Megiddo Junction and was carried out
by a Hezbollah terrorist who managed to penetrate the border from Lebanon
without being caught, and reach the junction located 70 km south of the border.
He also used an explosive device, which seriously injured local resident Sharaf
Edin Hamaisi. The terrorist tried to return to Lebanon and almost succeeded: He
was neutralized a few kilometers from the border and died..
The Shin Bet said in its announcement:
"As part of an operation by the General Security Service, a bomb attack on
behalf of Hezbollah was foiled, which was targeted against a former senior
official in the security system and was planned to be carried out in the coming
days.
"As part of the operation, the Shin Bet uncovered a type of Claymore
anti-personnel mine known to be used by Hezbollah, intended to cause injury. A
remote activation mechanism, based on a camera and a cell phone, was attached to
the charge, in order for it to be activated from Lebanon by Hezbollah.
"Operational preparation and the activity of the forces prevented the attack in
the final stages of implementation.
"The target of the attack has been updated by the security forces and is being
updated accordingly.
"At this stage it is not possible to provide further details.
"This device is similar in its characteristics to the Claymore device used by
Hezbollah on September 15, 2023 in Yarakon Park, which was intended to hit an
Israeli official. The assessment in the security system is that the Hezbollah
elements involved in the current incident were behind the attack in September
2023. It should be emphasized that the infrastructure was under surveillance for
a long time. "The Shin Bet, together with its partners in the security system,
will increase and operate with all the capabilities available to it to monitor
and thwart Hezbollah's terrorist activities."
14,000 Gaza amputees will get rapid prosthetic limbs
using UK tech
Arab News/September 17, 2024
LONDON: A Jordanian-led initiative to equip thousands of victims of the war in
Gaza with prosthetic limbs has started, Sky News reported on Tuesday. Two mobile
clinics entered the war-ravaged territory on Monday with the aim of helping
14,000 amputees. The estimated cost of each fitting is around £1,000 ($1,321).
The program involves UK-based companies Koalaa and Amparo, both of which have
developed easy-to-fit sockets for upper and lower limb prosthetics. Using
advanced British-designed technology, the doctors aim to fit a functioning
prosthesis every hour. Each fitting will be registered digitally, allowing for
remote follow-up procedures with specialist doctors based in Amman or around the
world. “Medical estimates indicate that over 14,000 people have been injured and
lost one or more limbs,” Jordanian Brig. Gen. Mustafa Al-Hiyari told Sky News.
“Our project is distinguished not only by the large number (of prosthetics
provided) but also by its speed; as specialists will declare, a prosthetic limb
would be installed in less than an hour. “Those who cannot reach the hospital,
the equipped vans will go to them,” the Jordanian Armed Forces member said. Most
of the amputees from the war cannot leave Gaza for treatment elsewhere, and the
conflict has displaced about 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million. The
top UN humanitarian official for Gaza told the UN Security Council on Monday
that more must be done to protect civilians.
“Time is slipping away as a man-made humanitarian crisis has turned Gaza into
the abyss,” Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction
coordinator for Gaza, said. Kaag said humanitarian operations are impeded by
lawlessness, Israeli evacuation orders, fighting, and operating conditions for
aid workers. She cited Israeli denials of access, delays, a lack of safety and
security, and “poor logistical infrastructure.”
Is The US Honestly Warning Netanyhau against a War in
Lebanon? Not so sure
Lebanon Iznogood/September 17/2024
The US appears to be doing its utmost to spare Lebanon a war with Israel.
Special Envoy Amos Hochstein is in Israel seemingly to prevent such a war. But
in reality, the US has already authorized a full-scale war by Israel in south
Lebanon because it - the US - does not want to be held responsible for a second
October 7-like incursion by Hezbollah into the Galilee. For the past 40 years,
the US has sponsored half-ass agreements and understandings with such actors as
the PLO and Hezbollah to keep things quiet along the tormented border, but to no
avail. Despite Israel's repeated invasions by Israel of southern Lebanon,
including its major one in 1982 that brought the Israeli army all the way up to
Beirut, the problem remains the same: In the eyes of many in the Arab world and
beyond, Israel is an unacceptable rapist of Palestine. No matter the force and
the power, no matter the deals -peace for land, or peace for normalization, or
peace for mutual recognition, etc. - they never worked and have always
consistently failed. Despite the Iranian scarecrow with which the US keeps
virtually all Arabs in tow in apparent recognition of, and normalization with,
Israel, the US is swimming against the historical current: No amount of
repression and enticements can ever eliminate the national aspirations of an
indigenous people for genuine self-determination over their land, especially
when they are ideologically and culturally backed by a very large community
right around them. Palestine is not an isolated island in the Pacific that can
raped, stolen and pilfered. Once there is recognition of that irremediable fact,
then perhaps more creative remedies to the Israeli colonial cancer can be
brought to bear other than brutal violence or backroom deals with dictators and
corrupt monarchs.
U.S. warns Netanyahu against starting a war in Lebanon
Barak Ravid/AXIOS/September 17/2024
A senior Biden adviser, Amos Hochstein, cautioned Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday against initiating a wider war against Lebanon,
three sources familiar with the meetings told Axios.
Why it matters: Hochstein's message came as the Israeli military and security
cabinet have been ramping up preparations for a war against Hezbollah in
Lebanon, which they hope would allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to
return home.
Driving the news: Exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border, which started
when Hezbollah attacked Israel on Oct. 8, have been consistently escalating.
Israeli and U.S. officials hoped a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza would calm
down the northern border, too. But in the absence of such a deal, the fear of an
all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah has significantly increased over the
last two weeks. The Israeli security cabinet voted on Tuesday to update the
goals of the nearly yearlong war to include the safe return of displaced
Israelis to their homes on the border with Lebanon. "Israel will continue to act
to implement this goal," the Prime Minister's office said. State of play:
Hochstein landed right in the middle of a political crisis in Israel. Netanyahu
is considering whether to fire defense minister Yoav Gallant, who has been a key
partner to the Biden administration. Netanyahu has wanted to fire Gallant for
months over their bad personal relations and deep policy disagreements, and has
been looking for a good timing to do it. According to Israeli press reports,
Netanyahu has been secretly negotiating in recent days with one of his
staunchest political rivals, former minister Gideon Saar, to replace Gallant.
Ultra-Orthodox parties have threatened to topple Netanyahu's coalition if he
doesn't pass a bill the exempts Yeshiva students from military service. Gallant
opposes that bill. A U.S. official told me "it would be crazy" of Netanyahu to
fire an experienced minister of defense like Gallant amid a war in Gaza and as
Israel might be heading towards a possible all out war in Lebanon. Behind the
scenes: Two sources familiar with Hoschtein's meetings said the U.S. envoy
emphasized to Netanyahu and Gallant that the U.S. does not believe a broader
conflict in Lebanon will achieve the goal of returning displaced Israelis to
their homes in the north. Hochstein said an all-out war with Hezbollah risks a
much broader and protracted regional conflict, the sources said. The U.S. envoy
made clear to Netanyahu and Gallant that the U.S. remains committed to a
diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, "either together with a Gaza hostage and
ceasefire deal or on its own," the sources said. The other side: Netanyahu told
Hochstein that it would not be possible to return displaced Israelis to their
homes without a fundamental change in the security situation on the border with
Lebanon, according to the Prime Minister's office."Israel appreciates and
respects the support of the Biden administration, but in the end it will do what
is necessary to maintain its security and return the residents of the north to
their homes safely," Netanyahu told Hochstein, according to a statement.
Gallant told Hochstein that the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the
situation on the northern border "has passed because Hezbollah continues to tie
itself to Hamas and refuses to end the conflict," the ministry of defense said.
"Therefore - the only way left to return the residents of the north to their
homes, will be through military action," Gallant told the American envoy.
Israel adds safe return of northern residents to war
goals /The military is discussing an expanded operation against Hezbollah in
Lebanon.
Joshua Marks/JNS/September 17, 2024
Israel’s Security Cabinet overnight Monday added returning Israelis displaced
from their homes in the north to the country’s war goals, bringing a potential
major confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon closer to reality. “The Security
Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following:
Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes,” the Prime
Minister’s Office said in a terse statement on Tuesday morning. “Israel will
continue to act to implement this objective.”According to government figures,
over 60,000 people have been evacuated from their residences near the Lebanese
border since last October, when the Iranian-backed terror army began near-daily
rocket and drone attacks in support of Hamas, after the Gaza-based terror group
initiated a war by invading the northwestern Negev.Communities in the Galilee
and Golan have become increasingly frustrated at the ongoing attacks and the
government’s response in Jerusalem. According to Channel 12, the military is
discussing an expanded operation in Lebanon, including the timing and the
details. “In the military, there’s a reluctance to repeat the precedent set in
Gaza, where the objectives of the war were not clearly defined” ahead of time,
according to the report. “Instead, they have established several clear targets
for defining the success of the operation. Among these targets are: the return
of residents, a significant buildup of forces along the border, and pushing
Hezbollah forces away from the border. A senior security official stated that
preparations should be made for a prolonged campaign that will exact a heavy
toll.” According to the Channel 12 report, “In the IDF, they are convinced that
the State of Israel has passed the [tipping point]—that there is no resolution
and the situation is escalating, and no one is saying anything different.
“This has enormous implications, but in the security establishment, there is a
firm belief that Israel cannot, at this stage, be satisfied with a ‘targeted
operation’ like those seen in previous years in Gaza, for example. They believe
that a broad and comprehensive action throughout Lebanon, including Dahieh [a
Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut], is necessary.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu told U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein on Monday that the
thousands of displaced Israelis will not be able to return without military or
diplomatic action against the terror group. Netanyahu “made it very clear that
it will not be possible to return our residents without a fundamental change in
the security situation in the north,” according to a readout from the Israeli
Prime Minister’s Office. While Jerusalem “appreciates and respects” the Biden
administration’s support, it will “ultimately do what is necessary to safeguard
its security and return the residents of the north securely to their homes,” he
told Hochstein during a meeting at Israel Defense Forces headquarters in Tel
Aviv. The additional war goal comes amid reports that Netanyahu is considering
replacing Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with New Hope Party leader
Gideon Sa’ar. Gallant for his part publicly supports an expanded military
operation to remove the Hezbollah threat in the north, telling his American
counterpart Lloyd Austin during a call on Monday that time was running out for
an agreed-upon de-escalation with the terror proxy.
“The possibility of a settlement in the north is passing. Hezbollah continues to
tie itself to Hamas. The direction is clear,” Gallant told Austin in an
overnight phone call, according to the Defense Ministry. Gallant also met with
Hochstein on Monday. The Biden envoy reportedly warned that a major military
operation against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon will not bring about the return
of Israel’s displaced residents. Hochstein informed Gallant that the United
States supports a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah, including through a truce with
Hamas terrorists in Gaza, a source familiar with the conversation told local
media. The United States envoy warned that military action would raise the risk
of all-out regional war. Gallant was said to have informed the White House envoy
that only Israeli military action against Hezbollah can create conditions that
will allow Israel to return the evacuees to their homes safely.
https://www.jns.org/israel-adds-safe-return-of-northern-residents-to-war-goals/
Full-scale war with Hezbollah is closer now than ever
before - analysis
YONAH JEREMY BOB/Jerusalem Post/September 16/2024
Sources have told the Jerusalem Post that this time a major operation could be
very real
Right now is the closest Israel has been to a full war with Hezbollah since
October 7.
This is true even in comparison to the period between July 30 and August 25,
probably the second most dangerous period between both sides.
How do we know that the coming days, weeks, and month or two before winter are
potentially explosive?
It is not just Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who told US Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin on Monday, that the possibility for a diplomatic solution with
Hezbollah in the North is running out.
It is not just the rumors that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to
replace Gallant with Gideon Sa’ar as defense minister in order to have greater
support for a major operation against Hezbollah.
It is not even that Netanyahu’s main political opposition, Benny Gantz,
continues to call out the prime minister for being too scared to risk a major
battle in the North, which has left the 60,000 evacuated northern residents
abandoned for nearly a year.
Confidence for major Hezbollah operation
These are the open and obvious signs. And, frankly, much of Israel’s political
and military class has been threatening to send Hezbollah back to the stone age
since early spring.
The Jerusalem Post has received indications behind the scenes, at both the
political and military levels, from sources who, although beforehand were
pouring cold water on the public statements, are now signaling that these
statements are serious.
Their reasons highlight how realities have changed a lot over the course of the
war.
Throughout, the main reason not to enter into war with Hezbollah was to avoid
distractions that might handicap the IDF from its goal of taking apart all 24 of
Hamas’s battalions in Gaza. Gallant declared Hamas’s last battalion in Rafah
defeated on August 21, nearly a month ago. Despite Netanyahu’s publicly
threatening words and tone, another major reason that war has not broken out is
that the prime minister was privately terrified of how many Israelis might die
from an estimated Hezbollah onslaught of 6,000-8,000 rockets per day.
August 25 is when all of that changed – radically.
On that day, Hezbollah planned to launch several hundred, possibly up to 1,000
rockets on Israel, including on critical intelligence headquarters bases north
of Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu and the war cabinet instructed the IDF not to launch a full preemptive
war on Hezbollah because, among other reasons, the prime minister was still
worried about its impact on the Israeli home front.
Since October 7, Netanyahu has doubted the military in areas where the objective
risk was higher, even if the military supposedly would have had the upper hand.
Sources have indicated that, behind closed doors, he was initially hesitant for
each of the three invasions of Gaza; northern Gaza in late October, Khan Yunis
in December, and Rafah in May. Yet, on August 25, the IDF did not just beat
Hezbollah – it cleaned house.
Despite substantive military victories over Hamas and small tactical victories
against Hezbollah, this was the first time the IDF won a major and complex
strategic victory over Hezbollah since the start of the war.
The military blew up the vast majority of the rockets and drones with which
Hezbollah had intended to attack Israel before these threats could even be
launched.
In this particular attack, Hezbollah neither killed nor damaged anyone or
anything of significance, while the IDF destroyed thousands of rockets.
Suddenly, Netanyahu has a newfound confidence: that he actually can afford a
major operation against Hezbollah – with much fewer losses to the home front
than he had expected. So, what if – instead of 5,000-10,000 dead Israelis from
tens of thousands of Hezbollah rockets over several weeks – he could hit
Hezbollah harder than it’s ever been hit before and destroy so many of its
rocket launchers on the ground that Israeli casualties might not be just smaller
but exponentially smaller?
Another factor was that until now, there was a good chance that Hamas would
agree to a ceasefire and that such a deal would lead Hezbollah to unilaterally
stop attacking Israel, just as it did during the November 23-30 deal. While this
is not impossible, the chances of a ceasefire with Hamas are now lower than they
have been in several months, after both sides have dug in on various issues
after having seemingly navigated around 90% of the obstacles.
All along, the only other option that has been discussed – if diplomacy failed –
was a major operation. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is still furious about
the killing of his military chief, Fuad Shukr by the IDF on July 30. With this
in mind, no one views him as being more flexible now than before.
Finally, the winter factor comes into play. Sources have told the Post that if
more than 4-6 weeks pass without an operation, it may be impossible – or much
harder – to carry out such an operation until Spring 2025.
This would mean condemning the northern residents to another 6 months outside of
their homes, something becoming increasingly untenable domestically in Israel.
Pressed that the IDF managed a successful invasion of Khan Yunis and defeated
Hamas in Shejaia in northern Gaza in the middle of this past winter, sources
said that the winter in mountainous Lebanon is far more fierce and difficult to
manage than in the Gazan deserts.
None of this means that a new broader war with Hezbollah is certain; it would
still be a risky proposition for Israel, Hezbollah, and also for the sides’
sponsors: the US and Iran.
The US could be drawn into a regional war – or at least be seen as having failed
to prevent a larger one – after a year of diplomacy, which could impact the
presidential election race.
Iran could lose Hezbollah as its major potential threat against Israel should
the Jewish state dare to think of attacking the Islamic Republic’s nuclear
facilities. Hezbollah would undoubtedly remain the main player in Lebanon but
might lose many of its most feared capabilities. This is the riskiest time in
the North since October 7.
What Is a Pager?
Malo Pinatel/This Is Beirut/September 17, 2024
Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters were injured on Tuesday in Dahiyé, the Bekaa
Valley, and southern Lebanon. The cause: the explosion of their pagers, likely
after being hacked by Israel.
Predecessor to Mobile Phones
A pager, or beeper, is a mobile communication device widely used before the rise
of mobile phones. Its main purpose is to receive short messages, usually phone
numbers or emergency notifications, which are displayed as text.First appearing
in the 1950s, pagers reached their peak in the 1980s and 1990s. They were
particularly favored in sectors where quick response was essential, such as
hospitals or emergency services. Pagers work via a radio transmission network:
when someone wants to contact a pager user, they go through an operator who
sends a signal to the device. The pager vibrates, emits a sound, or flashes to
indicate a message has been received. Some more advanced models allowed for
two-way communication, but most pagers were unidirectional, limited to receiving
messages. The pager offered a simple and reliable alternative to phone
communication, especially in areas where mobile networks were underdeveloped.
Its popularity also stemmed from its low cost, durability, and ability to
function in environments where mobile phones were ineffective, such as basements
or certain hospitals. However, with the advent of mobile phones and instant
messaging services, the use of pagers quickly declined. Today, their use is very
marginal, although some professionals, particularly in healthcare, continue to
use them for safety and reliability reasons.
Countermeasure to Israeli Intelligence
The pager was a precursor to modern mobile communication but has been overtaken
by more advanced and versatile technologies. However, in the current context of
the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the device has found a new use. In
fact, the rise in targeted assassinations carried out by the Israeli army
against members of Hassan Nasrallah’s organization has forced Hezbollah to
rethink its communication methods. The issue lies in how easily Israeli
intelligence could locate fighters through their mobile phones. Using pagers
seems to be a countermeasure to Israeli successes. Especially since Hezbollah
has regularly warned its members of such dangers, even going as far as banning
the use of mobile phones while on duty. However, pagers operate using radio
frequencies to receive messages, and these signals can be intercepted relatively
easily with the right equipment. Unlike modern communications, which are often
encrypted, messages sent to pagers are generally transmitted in plain text,
without privacy protection. In short, a pager can be easily hacked.
Latest Toll of Pager Explosions: 11 Killed, 4000 Wounded,
Hezbollah Accuses Israel
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
Eleven people, including the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar, were killed and
4000, mostly Hezbollah members (according to an initial assessment), as well as
the Iranian ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, were simultaneously injured
across Lebanon on Tuesday in an unprecedented Israeli technological attack
targeting their Pagers, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Among the
wounded, at least 400 were in critical conditions. Hezbollah accused Israel,
vowing “punishment” for the unprecedented technological attack. Among the killed
were Fatima Jaafar Abdallah, a 10-year-old girl who was near her father when his
Pager exploded, and Hussein Ayoub Fakih and Hussein Mantach, members of the
pro-Iranian group. The identity of the other victims has not been revealed.
Bodyguards of Hezbollah’s Secretary General have also been wounded in the
explosion of their pagers. The wounded also included the sons of MP Hassan
Fadlallah and Wafic Safa, head of the Hezb coordination unit, according to as
yet unconfirmed reports. Israel used state-of-the-art technology to remotely
detonate the batteries of the pagers, used by Hezbollah operatives to replace
cell phones, in order to reduce the risk of being traced and located by Israel.
In a statement issued a few hours after the attack, Hezbollah announced that it
had opened an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the
simultaneous explosions. In a second statement, it blamed Israel for the attack
and promised to retaliate.
“This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly receive his just punishment
for this sinful aggression, whether he expects it or not, and God is witness to
what we are saying,” the Hezbollah statement said. According to Syrian media,
quoted by MTV, similar attacks targeting Hezbollah elements have also taken
place in Syria. Initial reports said seven Hezbollah operatives have been killed
in the explosion of their pagers in Sayyida Zainab area, near Damascus. The
pro-Iranian group appealed for blood donations, as some of the wounded were in
critical condition. It also asked the media and Internet users not to publish
photos of the victims in order to protect them from further Israeli attacks.
Minister Abiad, left the Serail in a hurry, where a Council of Ministers was
being held, in order to monitor the rescue operations. He called on all health
employees to return to their respective workplaces to help the wounded. A
similar appeal was made by the President of the French Medical Association,
Youssef Bakhache, to all medical staff in private hospitals. Roads in Beirut’s
southern suburbs were closed to traffic to facilitate the evacuation of the
injured, many of whom were transported to the capital’s private hospitals. In
one such hospital, over 500 people were admitted to the emergency ward, a doctor
who operates there told This is Beirut. “We are overwhelmed. Most injuries are
in the eyes, and more wounded are still pouring in,” the physician, an
ophthalmologist, said on condition of anonymity.
Cabinet Condemns Pagers Attack, Reverses Decision on Syrian
Migrants’ Education
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
The Cabinet collectively condemned “the heinous Israeli aggression,” perpetrated
via exploding pagers, describing it as a “serious violation of Lebanese
sovereignty and a blatant crime by all standards.” During the session it held on
Tuesday at the Grand Serail, the Cabinet emphasized that the government had
immediately initiated all necessary communications with relevant countries and
the United Nations to hold them accountable for this ongoing crime. It also
decided to keep its meetings open to monitor the developments. Regarding the
budget draft, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati affirmed that the conditions
of all workers and retirees, both military and civilian, would be considered
within the state’s revenues and financial capabilities. “We are committed to
restoring balance to the standard of living and ensuring the dignity of
citizens,” he said. On September 12, the Retired Military Personnel Collective
issued a warning against any “slander or infringement” on their rights, vowing
to respond to attempts to sideline their demands. Mikati pointed out that they
are listening to “all voices of justice” and will work with relevant parties to
find solutions to every issue raised, “away from any populism.”However, he
stated that “the primary national concern remains the election of a president as
soon as possible, as well as the Israeli attacks that target Lebanese lives and
livelihoods. These genocidal crimes are a matter for the international
community, and we reaffirm the need to fully implement UN Resolution 1701.” In
addition, the Cabinet reversed its decision on the education of illegal Syrian
migrant children in Lebanese schools. Caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makary
announced that “this decision has been amended and now only applies to students
with legal residency and documents from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This decision extends to both vocational institutes and general education.”
Lebanese Officials React to Israeli Pager Attack on
Hezbollah
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
Following today’s unprecedented pager attack, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri
stated that “what Israel did this afternoon is not just a massacre, but rather a
clear war crime.”
“The entire world is called upon to take urgent action to rein in the Israeli
terror machine, which, if it continues to act with such impunity and
criminality, will drag the region and regional security and stability towards
grave danger,” he added. For his part, Former MP and leader of the Progressive
Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt emphasized the importance of “national
solidarity in the face of the unprecedented Israeli aggression that threatens
Lebanon’s security and sovereignty.” He stressed the need for the highest levels
of unity to confront this Israeli war. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
during his visit to the southern suburbs of Beirut, considered that “what
happened today is extremely serious.”
Lazzarini in Lebanon: The Situation Is Worrying and We Fear
the Worst
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
During his visit to Lebanon, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini,
conducted a tour on Tuesday to meet with Lebanese officials, presenting them
with an overview of the agency’s “alarming” situation. He outlined the financial
challenges facing UNRWA in Lebanon and the region, particularly in light of
Israel’s ongoing attempts to undermine its work, amid the war in Gaza and
southern Lebanon, which has persisted for over eleven months. Regarding the
impact of the tension between Israel and Lebanon, Lazzarini warned the Lebanese
officials that “we must always prepare for the worst, even though we all hope
that the worst won’t happen, as the situation is already concerning, especially
with the growing population displacement at the border.” Lazzarini raised the
alarm about UNRWA’s situation, noting that the agency is “facing constant
attacks, calls for dismantling and pressures from the Israeli Knesset in this
regard; and not a day passes without its facilities or staff being targeted.” He
made these remarks during his first meeting on Tuesday morning with caretaker
Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. Bou Habib emphasized the importance of
UNRWA “continuing its mission and services, particularly in the education and
health sectors, considering it an investment in securing a better future for
Palestinian refugees.” “UNRWA’s absence would push refugees toward extremism and
violence,” he added. The same issues were discussed during Lazzarini’s morning
meeting in Ain al-Tineh with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, during which he
warned of the impact of escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon. “In
Gaza, all efforts are focused on achieving a ceasefire, releasing hostages and
optimizing the humanitarian aid we provide,” he stated. Lazzarini and his
delegation, including UNRWA’s Director of Affairs in Lebanon, Dorothee Klaus,
and the head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Bassel al-Hassan,
later visited the Grand Serail, where they were received by caretaker Prime
Minister Najib Mikati.
Israeli Supply Chain Infiltration Likely Behind Hezbollah
Pager Blasts
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
Israel has scored a major intelligence success by apparently infiltrating a
supply chain to cause the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of Hezbollah pagers
in a blow for the Lebanese militant group and its Iranian backers, analysts say.
At least nine people were killed and some 2,800 wounded, including the Iranian
ambassador to Lebanon, when the pagers exploded in Hezbollah strongholds across
the country in an unprecedented simultaneous attack. With Hezbollah appearing to
prefer the use of pagers for internal communications over smartphones for
security reasons, analysts said it appeared Israel had corrupted the devices
before delivery, allowing them to explode at a specific time. A source close to
Hezbollah, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “the pagers that
exploded concern a shipment recently imported by Hezbollah of 1,000 devices,”
which appear to have been “sabotaged at source.”“For Israel to embed an
explosive trigger in the new batch of pagers, they would have likely needed
access to the supply chain of these devices,” said Brussels-based military and
security analyst Elijah Magnier. “Israeli intelligence has infiltrated the
production process, adding an explosive component and remote triggering
mechanism into the pagers without raising suspicion,” he said, raising the
prospect the third party, which sold the devices, could have been an
“intelligence front” set up by Israel for the purpose. Charles Lister of the
Middle East Institute said, “This was more than lithium batteries being forced
into override. A small plastic explosive was almost certainly concealed
alongside the battery, for remote detonation via a call or page.”
“Mossad infiltrated the supply chain,” he concluded, referring to Israel’s
intelligence agency.
‘Their big comeback’
The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter as saying the
affected pagers were from a new shipment that the group received in recent days.
Hezbollah has already blamed Israel for the explosions. Israel, which
traditionally does not comment on security operations outside the country, has
yet to confirm or deny its involvement. It remains unclear whether the action
could tip the region into a regional war between Israel and Hezbollah that the
West has been battling to avoid ever since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel
sparked a war in Gaza. But the images captured on camera of pagers exploding are
a major security blow for Hezbollah and an illustration of Israel’s reach, which
even extends to its members’ pockets. The action comes after senior Hezbollah
commander Fouad Shokr was killed on July 30 in a targeted Israeli air strike
that indicated Israel had precise information about his whereabouts. Just a day
later, the political leader of Hamas, Ismael Haniyeh, was killed in a residence
in Tehran, reportedly using an explosive device that had been placed by Israeli
operatives weeks before. French defense expert Pierre Servent said the latest
action against Hezbollah would help Israeli intelligence services restore their
reputation, which was badly dented by the October 7 attack. “The series of
operations conducted over the past few months marks their big comeback, with a
desire for deterrence and a message: ‘we messed up but we’re not dead,'” he told
AFP.
‘Classic sabotage’
Former CIA analyst Mike DiMino of the US-based Defense Priorities think tank
said that judging by images of the injuries, a “very small explosive” implanted
inside the devices most likely caused the blasts, rather than an overheating
battery. “This was a classic sabotage operation,” he said on X, adding that such
an operation takes “months, if not years” to orchestrate.Dubai-based analyst
Riad Kahwaji said that Israel had taken advantage of Hezbollah’s switch from
smartphones to pagers. Israel intelligence had conducted a “most professional
operation,” he said. “Without a doubt, one of the factories it (Israel) owns
manufactured and shipped these explosive devices that exploded today,” he added.
Daphné Benoit and Stuart Williams, with AFP
Following Pager Blasts, All Educational Establishments
Closed Tomorrow
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
Caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi announced the closure of all public
and private schools, high schools, vocational institutes, the Lebanese
University and all private higher education institutions for Wednesday,
following the pager explosions that killed nine and injured thousands, mostly
Hezbollah operatives.
Elie Mahfoud’s Handrail Against Nawaf Moussaoui
This Is Beirut/September 17/2024
The head of the Change Movement, lawyer Elie Mahfoud, and a group of lawyers
filed a complaint with the Beirut Public Prosecutor’s Office against former
Hezbollah deputy Nawaf Moussaoui for his statements, on Friday, threatening any
candidate for the presidency of the Republic who is hostile to his party’s line.
The former MPs delivered those threats in reaction to the tribute paid to
President Bachir Gemayel, assassinated on September 14, 1982. On that occasion,
Moussaoui declared that “any President of the Republic who opposes the line
taken by Hezbollah will not be able to live!”Mahfoud stressed, “Our presence at
the courthouse is not intended to defend Bachir Gemayel, but to express our
reactions in an institutional manner. The remarks made by Nawaf Moussaoui
constitute a clear and direct threat to any presidential candidate, suggesting
that any candidate disapproved of by Hezbollah will be subject to acts of
assassination and elimination.”He emphasized that “the timing of Moussaoui’s
statements is inopportune, given his partisan and political position, and
Hezbollah has a duty to provide clarification.”As a reminder, Nawaf Moussaoui
had made controversial remarks during a parliamentary session, “recalling” that
“Bachir Gemayel had reached Baabda on the back of an Israeli tank,” according to
the former MP. Moussaoui resigned his seat as MP in July 2019, at the request of
his party, Hezbollah.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 17-18/2024
Israel atomic chief: Iran keeps deceiving IAEA, West
on verge of nuke threshold
Jerusalem Post/September 17/2024
Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas have targeted the Dimona reactor in the past and are
likely to do so in the future. Israel Atomic Energy Chief Moshe Edri on Tuesday
told the IAEA that Iran continues to manipulate the international inspectors and
the West even as it has drawn dangerously closer than ever to crossing the
nuclear weapons threshold. Speaking at the organization's annual meeting, he
said, "There is no doubt that Iran established a military nuclear program with
the goal of developing a number of nuclear weapons. Iran continues to advance
this program by obtaining relevant technology and knowledge, along with a
worrying volume of enriched uranium." Edri said that Tehran, "has been carrying
out clandestine nuclear activities at undeclared sites for many years. The IAEA
found decisive evidence of the existence of these activities, including the use
of undeclared nuclear materials and related-equipment." Further, he stated that
the Islamic Republic is getting away with these continued nuclear violations of
its various international commitments "despite repeated decisions of the IAEA
Board of Governors," and that it has also failed to "provide credible technical
explanations for these activities, and it continues to deceive the IAEA the the
international community." Attacking Dimona
In addition, he warned that Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas have also hatched and
tried to carry out plans to attack Israel's nuclear facilities (Israel admits
that it has such facilities, such as at Dimona, but does not publicly discuss
any potential military dimensions.)
Moreover, he cautioned that Tehran is using and distributing dangerous ballistic
missiles, including to Yemen's Houthis, who have threatened global maritime
travel and trade. In 2018, the Mossad seized Iran's secret nuclear archive in
Tehran, and provided voluminous evidence to the IAEA of Iran's plot to develop
five nuclear weapons, including the five exact potential sites for testing such
weapons. Since 2019, the Islamic Republic and the IAEA have been at loggerheads
over a refusal to fully answer questions posed by the international nuclear
watchdog.
Gideon Sa'ar is 'unqualified' to serve as defense minister,
Eisenkot charges
Jerusalem Post/September 17/2024
MK Gadi Eisenkot criticized Gideon Sa'ar's potential appointment as defense
minister, calling it unqualified and risky for Israeli security. MK Gideon Sa'ar
is "unqualified" to serve as Israel's defense minister, his former party
colleague and former minister MK Gadi Eisenkot said in an interview on KAN Radio
on Tuesday morning. The comment came a day after a flurry of reports indicated
that Sa'ar was nearing a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enter
the government and take over as defense minister instead of current minister
Yoav Gallant. Fellow former minister and Sa'ar colleague, MK Benny Gantz, said
later on Tuesday that the deal "endangered Israeli security in the most concrete
way." In his speech at a conference of the Moshavim Movement Council, Gantz
commended the national security cabinet's decision late Monday night to include
the return of evacuees from the North to their homes in the official goals of
the war, albeit half a year too late. "But replacing a defense minister on the
eve of a possibly intense campaign in the North that could turn into a regional
war in my eyes is security recklessness," Gantz said. "When we joined the
emergency government, we put politics aside for the sake of the war, and now
Netanyahu and Sa'ar are putting aside the war for the sake of politics," Gantz
said. According to a report in Haaretz, Sa'ar demanded to receive veto power
over any legislation regarding changes to the judicial system and also agreed
that he would only consider candidates for the next IDF Chief of Staff that were
pre-approved by Netanyahu. The Israeli Business Forum, which includes the heads
of the 200 largest companies in Israel's economy, said in a statement that
firing Gallant would "weaken Israel in the eyes of its enemies and deepen even
further the divisiveness in the nation of Israel." The forum called on Netanyahu
not to follow through with the move, adding that it would also cause further
deterioration to the Israeli economy, which was "sinking into a deep
recession."The forum participated in a strike in March 2023 against Netanyahu's
first attempt to fire Gallant and enabled its workers to skip work in order to
attend protests.
Netanyahu’s approval rating deteriorates at home and
abroad
Arab News/September 17, 2024
LONDON: Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval rating has fallen — in Israel and abroad —
with British Jews showing “significant disapproval” of the current Israeli
leadership.
More than 11 months into the war in Gaza, the death toll among Palestinians is
more than 41,000. Farther north, there has been almost daily cross-border fire
between Israeli forces and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, raising fears of
an all-out Middle East war.
Meanwhile, there are 101 people still being held hostage by Hamas. At least six
others are believed to have been killed by airstrikes on the besieged enclave.
Netanyahu has failed to negotiate a ceasefire and many Israelis now accuse him
of sabotaging talks.
A new report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research determined it is
failures like these that have contributed to British Jews’ disapproval of the
Israeli leadership. Based on the most recent data, 80 percent either strongly or
somewhat disapprove of Netanyahu, while only 12 percent strongly or somewhat
approve. In addition, 74 percent of Jews in the UK view Israel’s overall
situation in a negative light, a figure nearly 10 percent higher than Israelis’
view of their country. This is significantly worse than a year previously,
reflecting the crisis of Oct. 7, the extended captivity of the hostages, and the
ongoing war in Gaza. The strictly orthodox, men, and people who voted for
right-wing parties in the previous UK election were the most likely groups to
view Israeli government policies more positively. JPR’s executive director, Dr.
Jonathan Boyd, said: ‘The Jewish community in the UK holds strong ties and
attachments to Israel, and the events of the past year have affected British
Jews very deeply. “In many respects, we can see that they feel closer to Israel
now than they did before October 7. “Still, as this report demonstrates, we are
also seeing high levels of disapproval for Netanyahu and even higher levels for
the hard-right members of his coalition, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“As much as Israel matters to British Jews, many are expressing clear concern
about its current political leadership
UN considers resolution demanding Israel end its occupation
of Palestinian territories
Edith M. Lederer/UNITED NATIONS (AP) /September 17, 2024
The U.N. General Assembly is considering a Palestinian resolution Tuesday
demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in Gaza and the occupied West
Bank within a year and calling for sanctions and an arms embargo against the
country. It will be put to a vote in the 193-member assembly Wednesday as
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza approaches its first anniversary and as
violence in the West Bank reaches new highs. The war was triggered by Hamas
attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny
Danon, urged member nations to reject the measure, describing it as “an attempt
to destroy Israel through diplomatic terrorism” and that "ignores the truth,
twists the facts and replaces reality with fiction.”
“Instead of a resolution condemning the rape and massacre committed by Hamas on
Oct. 7, we gather here to watch the Palestinians’ U.N. circus — a circus where
evil is righteous, war is peace, murder is justified and terror is applauded,”
he told the assembly. “This resolution doesn't move the region forward, it drags
the region backward, delaying the hope for peace and advancement.”The
resolution, if adopted by the General Assembly, would not be legally binding but
the extent of its support would reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in
the assembly, unlike in the 15-member Security Council.
It follows a ruling by the top United Nations court in July that said Israel’s
presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end. In the
sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the lands it captured during the
1967 war, the International Court of Justice said Israel had no right to
sovereignty over the territories and was violating international laws against
acquiring the lands by force. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador,
opened the General Assembly meeting by saying Palestinians face an “existential
threat.” He claimed Israel has held them “in shackles” and that it's beyond time
Israel's occupation ends and Palestinians return to their ancestral lands “in
dignity, in peace and security.”
“Those who think the Palestinian people will accept a life of servitude, a life
of apartheid, are the ones who are not being realistic,” he said. “Those who
claim that peace is possible in our region without a just resolution for the
question of Palestine are the ones who are not being realistic.”The resolution
demands Israel withdraw its forces, immediately halt all new settlement building
and evacuate all settlers from the Palestinian territories.
The measure also calls for Israel to pay reparations to Palestinians for the
damage caused by its occupation. It urges countries to take steps to prevent
trade or investments that maintain Israel’s presence and implement sanctions,
“including about settler violence.”
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters that the
resolution has “a significant number of flaws,” saying it goes beyond the ICJ
ruling and doesn’t recognize both that “Hamas is a terrorist organization” in
control of Gaza and that Israel has a right to defend itself.
“In our view, the resolution does not bring about tangible benefits across the
board for the Palestinian people,” she said. “I think it could complicate the
situation on the ground, complicate what we’re trying to do to end the conflict,
and I think it impedes reinvigorating steps toward a two-state solution.”
Mansour told reporters this week that over 60 countries have asked to speak
ahead of Wednesday’s vote. He said an initial Palestinian draft demanded Israel
end its occupation within six months but that it was revised in response to
concerns of some countries to increase the time frame to within a year.
He said the focus of the resolution is putting into place the International
Court of Justice’s ruling, which is also not legally binding.
“The idea is, you want to use the pressure of the international community in the
GA, and the pressure of the historic ruling by the ICJ to force Israel to change
its behavior in the direction of accepting to withdraw from the occupied
territory,” Mansour said.
Most likely, he said, Israel won’t pay attention to the resolution and the
Palestinians will then submit another one. Israel captured the West Bank, east
Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all
three areas for an independent state. The international community generally
considers all three areas to be occupied territory.
Palestinian poll finds big drop in support for Oct 7 attack
Ali Sawafta/Reuters/September 17, 2024
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A majority of Gazans believe Hamas' decision to
launch the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was incorrect, according to a poll published
on Tuesday pointing to a big drop in backing for the assault that prompted
Israel's devastating Gaza offensive. The poll, conducted in early September by
the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), found that 57% of
people surveyed in the Gaza Strip said the decision to launch the offensive was
incorrect, while 39% said it was correct. It marked the first time since Oct. 7
that a PSR poll found a majority of Gazan respondents judging the decision as
incorrect. It was accompanied by a drop in support for the attack in the West
Bank, though a majority of 64% of respondents there still thought it was the
correct decision, the poll found. PSR's previous poll, conducted in June, showed
that 57% of respondents in Gaza thought the decision to be correct.More than
41,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military offensive that has
laid waste to the Gaza Strip since last October, according to the Gaza health
ministry. Israel launched its assault after the unprecedented Hamas raid which
killed 1,200 people and resulted in another 250 being abducted, according to
Israeli tallies. PSR said it surveyed 1,200 people face-to-face, 790 of them in
the West Bank and 410 in Gaza, with a 3.5% margin of error. PSR polls since the
Oct. 7 attack have consistently shown a majority of respondents in both Gaza and
the West Bank to believe the attack was a correct decision, with support
generally greater in the West Bank than Gaza. PSR said the poll released on
Tuesday marked the first time since Oct 7. that its findings had shown
simultaneously in the West Bank and Gaza a significant drop in the favorability
of the attack and in expectations that Hamas will win the current war. Overall,
the poll found a majority of 54% of respondents in Gaza and the West Bank
thought the decision was correct. In August, the Israeli military accused Hamas
of mounting an effort to falsify the results of PSR polls to falsely show
support for Hamas and Oct. 7, though the military said there was no evidence of
PSR cooperating with Hamas. PSR said it had taken the allegation seriously and
investigated it. PSR said on Tuesday its analysis of the data did not flag any
inconsistencies that would arise when data is arbitrarily altered, and that a
review of quality control measures "convinced us that no data manipulation took
place". Support for Oct. 7 did not necessarily mean support for Hamas or
killings or atrocities against civilians, PSR said, adding that "almost 90% of
the public believes Hamas men did not commit the atrocities depicted in videos
taken on that day".
The poll showed a drop in the number of respondents in Gaza who said they
support Hamas to 35% from 38%. But the Islamist movement remained more popular
than Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Students describe attack by settlers on West Bank
elementary school
Mohammed Torokman Ali Sawafta/JERICHO/RAMALLAH (Reuters)/September 17, 2024
Half of the pupils stayed away from classes at an elementary school in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday, a day after it was attacked by Jewish
settlers with wooden bats in violence that has surged since the Gaza war
erupted. This type of attack, which wounded seven people according to
Palestinian officials, has tested the patience of Israel's allies, including the
United States, who have called for restraint in the West Bank as the death toll
climbs in Gaza and the conflict spreads in the Middle East. A video filmed by
Israeli activists and posted on social media showed a band of young men striking
people who were screaming in the yard of Al-Ka'abneh school during the assault
in a Bedouin area near Jericho on Monday. "Half of the students today did not
come to school because of the state of fear and terror they experienced
yesterday because of the settlers' attack on the school," Ahmed Nasser, an
official at the Palestinian Ministry of Education, told Reuters. Violence
against Palestinian villages was on the rise even before the outbreak of the
Gaza war, as settlement building has spread unchecked across the West Bank.
Since Oct. 7, when Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza
conflict, such attacks by Israeli settlers have increased. Figures last month
from the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA showed them running at around four per
day. "We were studying as usual in class, then they started saying that settlers
attacked the schools, I was able to gather my siblings so that nothing happens
to them," said student Aya Mlehat. "I was able to gather them in a classroom,
and the settlers started banging on the class trying to open it against our
will."
'WE RAN AND HID'
Palestinians and rights groups regularly accuse Israeli forces of standing by as
attacks take place and sometimes even joining in themselves. Legal action
against violent settlers is rare. "The army came along with the settlers, we ran
and hid in a class with a teacher, and did not go back to the class... He told
us to stay low under the tables, we stayed under the table and he told us to be
quiet," said student Malak Mlehat. The Israeli military did not immediately
respond to a request for comment. Countries including the United States have
begun imposing sanctions on individuals and face pressure to do more and to curb
the expansion of settlements on land the Palestinians want as the core of a
future independent state, a key part of the two-state solution favoured by
Western countries. At the same time the West Bank has witnessed almost daily
sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular
gunbattles between security forces and Palestinian fighters. More than 703
Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Hamas-led attack on
Israel on Oct. 7 last year, including both fighters and unarmed civilians,
according to the Palestinian health authorities. In the same period, about 40
Israeli troops and civilians have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in
clashes with fighters, according to figures from Israel's domestic security
agency. Most countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel occupied in
a 1967 Middle East war as illegal, and their expansion has for decades been
among the most contentious issues between Israel, the Palestinians and the
international community. Israel cites biblical, historical and political ties to
the area.
Israel business leaders urge Netanyahu to keep defence
chief Gallant
Steven Scheer/Reuters/September 17, 2024
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Business Forum on Tuesday urged Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to not fire his defence minister, saying it would create more
division and weaken the country after reports of an imminent political shake-up
rattled the country.
Israel's leading television channels and news websites have reported that
Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating
firing Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned
rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition. The forum,
which consists of 200 heads of Israel's largest companies that employ many
private sector workers, said Netanyahu should stop "messing around with petty
politics" during a war."Immediately stop the process of replacing (Gallant),"
the forum said in a statement. "The firing of the minister weakens Israel in the
eyes of her enemies, and will further deepen the division in the people of
Israel."Such a move would be a shock to the political and security landscape,
especially as the war with Islamist group Hamas in Gaza rages on and with the
looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in
Lebanon.
Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer
to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members
of the coalition. "The prime minister knows better than anyone that all the
economic indicators also prove that Israel is deteriorating into an economic
abyss and sinking into a deep recession," the forum said. "The last thing Israel
needs at this time is the firing of a defence minister - which will continue to
shock the country." On Monday, official data showed the economy grew an
annualised 0.7% in the second quarter, revised down from a prior estimate of
1.2%. On a per capita basis, the economy contracted 0.9% in the quarter. In
March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and
urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That
triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.
Jordan armed forces downs drone attempting to cross
Jordanian territory
Reuters/September 17, 2024
CAIRO: Jordanian armed forces thwarted an attempt by a drone to cross the
kingdom’s territory, Jordan’s state news agency Petra said on Tuesday, without
clarifying the direction from which it was coming. “The border guard forces ...
shot it down and it was transferred to the specialized authorities,” Petra said
citing an official source in the army’s leadership. Petra also quoted the source
as saying: “We are dealing firmly with various threats on the kingdom’s
borders.”Jordan neighbors Syria and Iraq — both countries where Iranian proxy
forces operate — and also is next door to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West
Bank. The Jordanian statement came shortly after Lebanon’s Hezbollah group
accused Israel of detonating pagers across Lebanon, killing at least eight
people and wounding nearly 3,000 others including Iran’s envoy to Beirut. In
April, the kingdom shot down Iranian drones flying over to Israel. More recently
in September, a gunman from Jordan killed three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge
border crossing in the occupied West Bank before security forces shot him dead.
Widespread relief as rescuers tow burning oil tanker to
safety in Red Sea
Saeed Al-Batati/Arab NewsSeptember 17, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: A burning tanker in the Red Sea carrying almost a million barrels of
oil has been successfully moved to a safe location without leaking, the EU naval
mission said, raising hopes of defusing an environmental disaster in the
shipping artery.
In a post on X, the EU mission, known as EUNAVFOR Aspides, said on Monday that
rescuers had completed the first phase of salvaging the burning Sounion oil
tanker in the Red Sea after towing it to a safe area under the protection of its
naval ships, bringing worldwide relief, primarily from marine experts who had
warned of a disaster to the Red Sea ecology and shipping if the ship leaked oil
or exploded. “Under protection of EUNAVFOR Aspides, MV Sounion has been
successfully towed to a safe area without any oil spill. While private
stakeholders complete the salvage operation, ASPIDES will continue to monitor
the situation,” the EU mission said. It added: “The completion of this phase of
the salvage operation is the result of a comprehensive approach and close
cooperation between all stakeholders committed to prevent an environmental
disaster affecting the whole region.” The Greek-flagged oil tanker has been
abandoned and burning in the Red Sea since late August when the Houthis attacked
it several times over claims that ships owned by the Sounion parent company
visited Israel ports.
Wim Zwijnenburg of the Humanitarian Disarmament Project at the Dutch peace
organization PAX said on Tuesday that satellite images showed the burning ship
and warships escorting it sailing near the coast of Eritrea.
“The MV #Sounion has been towed to safer waters for a salvage operation.
Satellite radar imagery of today, Sept 17, shows the ship with its escort close
to the coast of Eritrea, where they are likely to work on putting out the fires
and making the ship ready for further towing,” Zwijnenburg said on X. Since
November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship, sunk two, and burned
several others while launching hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and drone
boats at ships in shipping lanes off Yemen in a campaign that the Yemeni militia
claims is intended to put pressure on Israel to end its war in the Palestinian
Gaza Strip. Despite widespread condemnation for their attacks on ships and
threats to the environment and navigation freedom, the Houthis threatened to
continue to attack ships as well as fire drones and missiles at Israel.
Meanwhile, the Houthis held a military funeral procession in Sanaa on Tuesday
for three of their officers who were killed in fighting with the Yemeni
government. Despite the significant drop in hostilities in Yemen since April
2022, when a UN-brokered truce went into effect, the Houthis have organized
dozens of similar funerals for hundreds of their fighters killed on the
battlefields in Sanaa, Hodeidah, Saada, Amran, and other Yemeni provinces under
their control. Dozens of Yemeni government soldiers have also been killed in
clashes with the Houthis over the past two years. A Yemeni government field
commander was killed on Sunday when the Houthis attacked government troops in
the southern province of Dhale, the latest in a series of deadly Houthi attacks
on government forces.
CAIR demands right to terrorize synagogues/What kind of
organization needs to make the case for harassing Jews?
Daniel Greenfield/JNS/September 17, 2024
I was on site when a mob of Islamists and leftists attacked the Adas Torah
synagogue in Los Angeles. The synagogue was besieged and Jews were prevented
from entering. Multiple Jewish community members were assaulted while the police
for the most part did nothing. No arrests were made of the attackers who came
armed and masked. While the media tried to once again cover up or redirect blame
for the violence, there was enough outrage that a few L.A. legislators actually
attempted to introduce bills banning more of the same. Who would possibly object
to that? CAIR. The Islamist group whose leader celebrated the Oct. 7 attacks.
After pressure campaigns totaled previous efforts to stop the pro-terrorist
violence, the L.A. Board of Supervisors, which had backed the UCLA attacks on
Jewish students, introduced a proposal for a “bubble zone” that would ban
preventing people from entering a school, healthcare facility or house of
worship. Or harassing people in close proximity to these sites for political
reasons. I’m not a big fan of the “bubble zone” legislation, which fails to deal
with what’s going on, but CAIR claims that preventing them from harassing Jews
going to synagogue interferes with their rights. The CAIR press release defends
the attacks on the Adas Torah synagogue and claims that preventing hateful mobs
from attacking synagogues would be “penalizing peaceful protests simply based on
their proximity to geographic landmarks,” and that “this motion threatens to
push protesters out of sight, effectively chilling their speech, further
disenfranchising already vulnerable groups.”The “geographic zones” in question
would be houses of worship. The houses of worship that the mobs CAIR supports
seem to want to attack. What kind of organization needs to make the case for
blocking synagogues and harassing Jews? CAIR does.
**Daniel Greenfield is an Israeli-born journalist who writes for conservative
publications.
India condemns Iran supreme leader's comments on treatment
of minorities
Reuters/Mon, September 16, 2024
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has condemned comments made by Iran's Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei on the treatment of Muslims in the South Asian nation, calling his
remarks "misinformed and unacceptable". "We cannot consider ourselves to be
Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in
Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place," Khamenei said in a social media post
on Monday. In response, India's foreign ministry said it "strongly deplored" the
comments. "Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own
record before making any observations about others," the foreign ministry
spokesperson said. The two countries have typically shared a strong
relationship, and signed a 10-year contract in May to develop and operate the
Iranian port of Chabahar. India has been developing the port in Chabahar on
Iran's south-eastern coast along the Gulf of Oman as a way to transport goods to
Iran, Afghanistan and central Asian countries, bypassing the ports of Karachi
and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan. Khamenei, however, has been critical of India
in the past over issues involving Indian Muslims and the troubled
Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
Iran releases Austrian citizen from prison before end of sentence
Reuters/ September 17, 2024
DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) -Iran has granted an early release from prison to
Austrian citizen Christian Weber, who was convicted of offences that originally
included spying, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday. "I am very
pleased that ... the Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Tehran have succeeded
in securing the early release of Christian Weber from Iranian custody," Nehammer
said on social media platform X. "The Austrian embassy's team in Tehran is now
working hard to ensure that he can leave the country as quickly as possible and
can be reunited with his family in Austria," he added.
Austria and Iran have both said little publicly about the case, which Vienna
disclosed in late 2022. At the time, Iran was undergoing some of the biggest
anti-government demonstrations in its modern history following the death in
custody of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating dress
codes. Austria said then that the charges against its citizen were not related
to the Amini case. In February, Austria's foreign minister said a conviction
against Weber for spying had been overturned on appeal and that his sentence for
unspecified other crimes had been halved.
The Austrian foreign ministry said on Tuesday that "administrative steps" still
need to be completed with the Iranian authorities. The Iranian judiciary's Mizan
news agency said Weber had been detained for crimes committed in Iran's West
Azerbaijan Province and freed in consideration of Islamic mercy. He was handed
over to Austria's ambassador to arrange his exit, the agency said. Mizan did not
specify the crime for which Weber was jailed. Calls to the Austrian embassy
before regular office hours went unanswered. Iran's judiciary was not
immediately available for comment.
New Iranian FM pledges ‘unlimited’ support for regional
terrorism
JNS/September 17, 2024
The policy of President Masoud Pezeshkian's government is to "provide unlimited
support to the resistance," said Abbas Araghchi. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi vowed on Monday to keep up Tehran’s “unlimited support” for terror
groups throughout the region while avoiding a direct clash with Israel,
according to official Iranian media. The policy of Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian’s government is to “provide unlimited support to the resistance,”
said Araghchi. “We will support the resistance front, which has established
itself as a reality in the region.”
The “Axis of Resistance” includes Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
Yemen’s Houthi rebels and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the Middle
East. The Israeli army “has so far failed to achieve its main goal of destroying
Hamas,” Araghchi claimed in remarks cited by the Tasnim news agency. The
diplomat stressed that the Islamic Republic “remains vigilant against traps that
might be set to draw us into the conflict. We are monitoring regional
developments with intelligence and awareness.”In separate remarks at a press
conference on Monday, Pezeshkian told reporters that his government would
“never” give up its ballistic missile program as demanded by the United States
and European nations. “If we don’t have missiles, they will bomb us whenever
they want, just like in Gaza,” he charged, calling on the international
community “to first disarm Israel before making the same demands to Iran.”The
Islamic Republic, he claimed, “has never been the initiator of war, and the
history of the past 100 years shows that we have not been an initiator of
war.”On April 14, Iran launched 300 drones and missiles at Israel in the
first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state from Iranian soil. It said the
attack was retaliation for a strike that killed a top Iranian general in
Damascus. In June, Tehran threatened that an Israel Defense Forces operation
against Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists could lead to an “obliterating war” with
all of Iran’s proxies, warning that “all options are on the table.”Iran has also
threatened revenge following the July 31 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the
top “political” leader of Hamas, who died in an explosion at his Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps guesthouse in Tehran. Iran and Hamas have accused
Israel of killing Haniyeh. There have also been Iranian threats of a push toward
a nuclear bomb. In May, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that
Tehran would weaponize its nuclear program if Israel “threatens its
existence.”Araghchi’s interim predecessor, Ali Bagheri Kani, said on July 15
that Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border massacre in Israel’s northwestern Negev region
shifted the balance in the Middle East “in favor of the resistance.”As many as
500 terrorists affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad based in the Gaza Strip
trained in Iran leading up to the Oct. 7 assault, The Wall Street Journal
reported in late October. Iran has officially hailed the attacks as a “success,”
saying the murder of some 1,200 people, mainly Jewish civilians, was a response
to the 2020 killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by the United
States.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 17-18/2024
But No Boycotts on Russia, China or Iran: The
Staggering Hypocrisy of Starmer, Trudeau and Scholz
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute./September 17, 2024
[T]he UK government announced that it is imposing an "immediate" weapons embargo
against Israel. The statement followed almost a year of relentless attacks on
Israel, not only by Iran's proxies -- Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis -- but by
Iran itself, and probably several tons of unverified propaganda by Hamas that
Israel is supposedly committing "war crimes."
Even South Africa is seeking to extend the deadline for presenting evidence
against Israel at the International Court of Justice, for lack of evidence of
its allegations of genocide. So far, all evidence points to Israel being "the
world's most moral army." Meanwhile, the same cannot be said for the entities
attacking it.
The UK suspended "around 30 licences for items used in the current conflict in
Gaza which go to the IDF, from a total of approximately 350 licences to Israel"
allegedly because of Hamas-induced fear that they "might be used to commit or
facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law." [emphasis
added]
Hamas, on the other hand, continues to receive Britain's support: Although UNRWA
has proven itself to be identical with Hamas, with roughly 10% of its members
proven to have been terrorists or with ties to terror groups, and having used
its entire Gaza infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, for the purpose
of facilitating terror and missile attacks against Israel and its civilians...
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in his announcement of the weapons embargo to
the House of Commons, said, "in July, I told this House that this government's
priority in the region would be to advance the cause of peace" -- apparently
because nothing spells peace more than emboldening terrorists.
The UK government worries about Red Cross access to terrorists who participated
in the most gruesome crimes, while the ICRC's blatant lack of interest in the
Israeli hostages held by Hamas did not even merit a mention by Lammy.
The UK's arms embargo appears to represent nothing so much as pure racist
perfidy. Lammy completely ignores the extreme lengths to which Israel has gone
to avoid civilian casualties, as well as the huge amounts of humanitarian aid it
has facilitated into the Gaza Strip.
Spain has also suspended arms export licenses to Israel since October 7. Spanish
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the Gaza war "made us realize the
importance of a fair and lasting solution" to the Palestinian conflict with
Israel. Fair and lasting, evidently, means siding with terrorists. It is
particularly unbecoming of Spain, after 60 years of having combated the
terrorist group ETA, to throw the first stone.
By contrast, Germany is massively arming Qatar, which, alongside Iran, is the
most significant backer of Hamas, and effectively every other Islamic terrorist
group.
What will be the result of the embargoes? Western leaders claim to want
de-escalation, but placing Israel under arms embargo only serves to strengthen
and empower Qatar, Iran and Iran's terrorist proxies -- which in turn can lead
only to further destabilizing the Middle East, particularly after Iran regime
succeeds in acquiring nuclear weapons.
Arming Israel's enemies, whether through Iran or Qatar, while limiting Israel's
ability to defend itself, is setting up a disaster that is likely to end up in
Europe, on the heads of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Pictured: Starmer
(L) and Trudeau at the NATO 75th anniversary summit on July 11, 2024 in
Washington, DC. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty Images)
On September 2, the day that Hersh Goldberg-Polin -- one of the six hostages
recently murdered by Hamas -- was buried, the UK government announced that it is
imposing an "immediate" weapons embargo against Israel. The statement followed
almost a year of relentless attacks on Israel, not only by Iran's proxies --
Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis -- but by Iran itself, and probably several
tons of unverified propaganda by Hamas that Israel is supposedly committing "war
crimes."
Even South Africa is seeking to extend the deadline for presenting evidence
against Israel at the International Court of Justice, for lack of evidence of
its allegations of genocide. So far, all evidence points to Israel being "the
world's most moral army" (here, here, here and here). Meanwhile, the same cannot
be said for the entities attacking it.
The UK suspended "around 30 licences for items used in the current conflict in
Gaza which go to the IDF, from a total of approximately 350 licences to Israel"
allegedly because of Hamas-induced fear that they "might be used to commit or
facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law." [emphasis
added]
Hamas, on the other hand, continues to receive Britain's support: Although UNRWA
has proven itself to be identical with Hamas, with roughly 10% of its members
proven to have been terrorists or with ties to terror groups, and having used
its entire Gaza infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, for the purpose
of facilitating terror and missile attacks against Israel and its civilians,
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced in July that it was going to
"restart funding to UNRWA in order to get aid as quickly as possible to those
who need it in Gaza" as a "moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe."
Starmer seems unperturbed that all funding goes straight to the terrorist group,
Hamas, and not to the needy civilians of Gaza, who are shot if they try to
approach the trucks. The UK, which is taking away the annual winter fuel
allowance for British pensioners, already sent the first £21 million
(approximately $28 million) to the terrorists in Gaza.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in his announcement of the weapons embargo to
the House of Commons, said, "in July, I told this House that this government's
priority in the region would be to advance the cause of peace" -- apparently
because nothing spells peace more than emboldening terrorists. He then went on
to explain:
"These [suspended licenses] include equipment that we assess is for use in the
current conflict in Gaza, such as important components which go into military
aircraft, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as items
which facilitate ground targeting."
Lammy went on to admit that the UK government hasn't the faintest idea whether
Israel is, in fact, committing any war crimes, but just in case, better to
boycott:
"In many cases, it has not been possible to reach a determinative conclusion on
allegations regarding Israel's conduct of hostilities, in part, because there is
insufficient information either from Israel, or other reliable sources to verify
such claims. Nevertheless, it is the assessment of His Majesty's Government,
that Israel could reasonably do much more to ensure lifesaving food and medical
supplies reach civilians in Gaza in light of the appalling humanitarian
situation."
Aid in trucks is received at the border, then distributed by Hamas. Lammy might
have pointed out that so far, Gaza has received more than 1 million tons in
humanitarian aid. It is not known how much, if any, aid ever reaches Gazan
civilians, or at what prices it is sold on the black-market.
The ghastly humanitarian situation of the Jewish hostages in Hamas' terror
tunnels, on the other hand, evidently concerns no one. They have received
exactly zero grams of humanitarian aid.
Lammy concluded that the Labour government "is also deeply concerned by credible
claims of mistreatment of detainees" (by which he meant terrorists) "which the
International Committee of the Red Cross cannot investigate after being denied
access to places of detention."
In March, the former UK government, led by Rishi Sunak, reportedly conditioned
continued arms supplies to Israel on Israel allowing the Red Cross or
international diplomats to visit the detained terrorists of Hamas's elite Nukhba
force, which led the October 7 massacre. Then Foreign Secretary David Cameron
had even warned Israeli officials at the time that Europe as a whole would
impose a weapons embargo on Israel.
The UK government worries about Red Cross access to terrorists who participated
in the most gruesome crimes, while the ICRC's blatant lack of interest in the
Israeli hostages held by Hamas did not even merit a mention by Lammy.
The UK's arms embargo appears to represent nothing so much as pure racist
perfidy. Lammy completely ignores the extreme lengths to which Israel has gone
to avoid civilian casualties, as well as the huge amounts of humanitarian aid it
has facilitated into the Gaza Strip.
According to Major (ret.) John Spencer, head of urban warfare studies at the
Modern War Institute at West Point, who also served for 25 years in the US Army
as an infantry soldier and served two tours of duty in Iraq:
"In my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the U.S. military,
I've never known an army to take such measures to attend to the enemy's civilian
population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same
buildings. In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to
prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what
international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan."
The embargo accomplishes one thing only: Emboldening and strengthening Hamas --
not only by withholding necessary military equipment from Israel, but by showing
Hamas that its propaganda and lies are working exactly according to plan: to
isolate Israel, while emboldening and encouraging Iran.
The UK, unfortunately, is not an isolated case. In March, Canada's Foreign
Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that Canada would cease arms exports to
Israel, telling the Toronto Star, "It is a real thing."
On September 10, Joly announced that Canada had suspended 30 export permits of
Canadian companies exporting military matériel to Israel, adding that Canada
will also block the sale of any Canadian arms or parts to a third country that
could end up being used by Israel's military in Gaza. This means that US plans
to sell 50,000 120mm mortar rounds to Israel are no longer viable, because
"[the] principal contractor will be General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical
Systems Inc., located in Quebec, Canada"; such a sale is presumably now
prohibited by Canada.
"As for the question regarding General Dynamics, our policy is clear." Joly
said. "We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza,
period."
Israel's Ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, said that the move would "actually
weaken our possibility to defend ourselves against terrorism of Hamas. That is
exactly what it would entail."
Perhaps that is exactly what the UK and Canada want?
Not everyone has made an official announcement of their arms boycotts of Israel.
In January, Italy's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani,
said, "Since October 7, [2023] we decided not to send any more arms to Israel,
so there is no need to discuss this point."
Spain has also suspended arms export licenses to Israel since October 7. Spanish
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the Gaza war "made us realize the
importance of a fair and lasting solution" to the Palestinian conflict with
Israel. Fair and lasting, evidently, means siding with terrorists. It is
particularly unbecoming of Spain, after 60 years of having combated the
terrorist group ETA, to throw the first stone. Albares continued:
"Starting on 7 October, we have stopped giving any licences for exporting
weapons to Israel.
"The Middle East, the last thing they need right now is weapons. What we need is
to try and stop this violence that is spreading all over, bringing weapons into
the region is the opposite.
"What we need is medicines, foodstuff, fuel, energy, water and, above all, we
need peace."
Belgium, in May, called for an EU-wide arms embargo on Israel. "Stop arms
deliveries to Israel," Belgian Development Minister Caroline Gennez urged
European ministers.
Most recently, according to a September 15 report by the German magazine Bild,
Germany has not granted approvals for arms exports to Israel since March, while
Scholz has continued to declare his support for Israel publicly, and promised
continued military aid. According to Bild:
"Last year, the Israeli government had already requested the purchase of several
thousand pieces of ammunition for its main battle tanks, and there were further
requests for other types of armament. For the Jewish state, which is currently
fighting on several fronts against the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, the
purchase of certain military equipment from abroad is particularly important."
By contrast, Germany is massively arming Qatar, which, alongside Iran, is the
most significant backer of Hamas, and effectively every other Islamic terrorist
group. Bild journalist Björn Stritzel noted:
"In the first half of 2024, the federal government approved arms sales worth
just over 100 million euros to the rulers in Doha, who are probably the most
important supporters of the terrorist organization Hamas."
What will be the result of the embargoes? Western leaders claim to want
de-escalation, but placing Israel under arms embargo only serves to strengthen
and empower Qatar, Iran and Iran's terrorist proxies -- which in turn can lead
only to further destabilizing the Middle East, particularly after Iran regime
succeeds in acquiring nuclear weapons. Arming Israel's enemies, whether through
Iran or Qatar, while limiting Israel's ability to defend itself, is setting up a
disaster that is likely to end up in Europe, on the heads of Starmer, Trudeau,
and Scholz.
*Robert Williams is based in the United States.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
In fragile Jordan, anti-Israel mood is a boon for Islamists
Canaan Lidor/JNS//September 17, 2024
https://www.jns.org/in-fragile-jordan-anti-israel-mood-is-a-boon-for-islamists/
Unprecedented successes for the local Muslim Brotherhood branch portend more
hostility to Israel at best and a power vacuum at worst, experts say.
Jordan has a predominantly Palestinian population and the longest border with
Israel of any country, but is rarely thought of as a threat to the Jewish state.
Despite some terrorism involving Jordan—including the murder of three people at
the Allenby border crossing with Israel on Sept. 8—the Jordanian kingdom’s last
military adventure against Israel ended in 1967, and in 1994 the two countries
signed a peace accord. Yet the unprecedented gains of a Muslim Brotherhood party
in last week’s elections in Jordan demonstrated the potential for change in a
dictatorship rife with anti-Israel hatred amid religious radicalization and
ancient interethnic animosities.
In the Sept. 11 election, Jordan’s main opposition party, the Islamic Action
Front, or IAF, received 22% of the vote—the largest share of any party and
triple its previous performance, securing 31 out of 138 seats in parliament.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh has resigned and is to be replaced by Jaafar
Hassan, now head of King Abdullah’s office and a former planning minister,
Reuters reported Sunday.
The IAF’s success is widely attributed to its ideological proximity to Hamas,
with which many voters feel solidarity amid Israel’s 11-month war against the
terrorist group. Some analysts warn that this points to creeping religious
radicalization amid a tribal rift in Jordan, which is ruled by the Hashemite
royal family and its Bedouin allies but whose population mostly comprises a
marginalized Palestinian majority. At stake is a scenario where a destabilized
Jordan allows Iran, which already controls Iraq, to add bordering Jordan to its
list of satellite states, thereby gaining access to Israel. “If you think Gaza’s
a problem, Jordan can be a far worse one, with rockets being launched from
Amman,” Middle East analyst Pinchas Inbari, a researcher for the Jerusalem
Center for Public Affairs, told JNS.
Inbari warned that the result of the election represents not only the rise of a
potentially destabilizing force but a weakening of the internal tribal alliance
that allows the Hashemites to rule. Much of IAF’s power base is from the
Howeitat Bedouin tribe in southern Jordan, to which the killer from the Sept. 8
attack belonged, Inbari noted. The Howeitat have effectively transferred their
allegiance from the Hashemite-run establishment to the IAF opposition, he said.
“So we’re not only talking about the ruling coalition facing an external threat,
such as the Palestinians or fundamentalism. We’re seeing cracks with the
coalition that allow fundamentalism and pro-Palestinian sentiment, and that’s a
far more worrisome development because it could portend a breakup, and a
dangerous power vacuum,” said Inbari. Daniel Pipes, a prominent Middle East
analyst and the president of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum think
tank, has a more sanguine approach to the election’s results. He views the IAF’s
gains as attributable to an “anti-Zionist” sentiment, as he termed it, following
the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, when Hamas murdered some
1,200 people in Israel and abducted another 251. Thousands of people in Gaza
have died in the war, and images of the human suffering in Gaza have outraged
much of the Muslim world and beyond.
In March, fiery protests broke out against Israel in Amman, including an attempt
to storm the Israeli embassy there. Against this background, “the IAF was the
vehicle to express anti-Zionism. So it’s not so much an Islamist vote as an
anti-Israel vote,” said Pipes.
King Abdullah of Jordan, Pipes said, is a cautious leader who, long before the
elections, was adept at coexisting with the Muslim Brotherhood in a modus
vivendi in which his regime tolerated the movement as long as it avoided
violence or power grabs. Even after the election, “that basic premise has
remained.”
Should the IAF attempt to leverage its electoral gains to force the king to take
a more hostile line on Israel, Pipes added, this prospect is limited by Jordan’s
dependence on Israel for water, gas and other benefits.
Israel, which enjoys a massive water surplus thanks to its unrivaled
desalination project, now produces most of its own drinking water and provides
Jordan with 100 million cubic meters annually. That covers about 25% of Jordan’s
chronic water shortfall.
Pipes recalled speaking about this with locals in Amman during his last visit
there in 2017. “In the city, there’s a weekly water supply to tanks of
individual buildings or homes. You better have your water tank, you better fill
it up, or you won’t have any water,” he said.
If Israel didn’t supply that water, “then you’d find riots on the streets. The
Israeli connection is vital economically and politically or in security
intelligence terms,” he added.
This dependence and others are a strong deterrence to any governing power, and
the Hashemite royal family especially, against rash moves against Israel, said
Pipes. The elections may mean more anti-Israel rhetoric from Jordanian
officials, he added, though they were not mincing words before it, either.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi charged Israel with “genocide” in
December over its actions in Gaza. King Abdullah accused Israel of committing a
“war crime” there, later claiming, while ignoring Hamas’s atrocities, that the
“root of the crisis” was Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Murad Adailah, the head of IAF, dedicated his party’s showing to the killer of
three Israelis at Allenby, calling him a martyr. “He is a tremendous hero,”
Adailah said of Maher al-Jazi, who was killed in the attack. “On election night,
he made all Jordanians walk taller, he is the real winner,” said Adailah.
Inbari, the Israeli Middle East analyst, said Israel has an important role to
play in bolstering the king’s position vis-a-vis the IAF if it desists from what
Inbari called “silly actions” on the Temple Mount. A holy site to Jews and to
Muslims, the Temple Mont is run by the Jordanian Waqf with permission from
Israel to enforce policies that prohibit Jewish worship.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other officials have visited the
Temple Mount in recent months, triggering outrage throughout the Muslim world
and in Jordan especially. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently forbade any
such visits without his approval. Inbari said that “nothing erodes the prestige
of King Abdullah more effectively than the appearance of Israeli encroachments
on the Temple Mount.”
On this issue, too, Pipes sounded less alarmed. When it comes to the
anti-Israeli priorities of Jordanians, Pipes said he supposes that “Gaza is the
overwhelmingly largest story and that Temple Mount is a rather small sideshow
compared to it.”
The ban on Jewish worship on the Temple Mount “has become the status quo, but
it’s a very strange situation, one that should not be,” he said. As for Jordan’s
role there, he argued for opening up the position to the several other Muslim
powers interested in controlling the site, in exchange for concessions there or
beyond.The Temple Mount offers “Israel a great benefit that it can bestow on the
Islamic authority of its choosing—maybe Saudi Arabia, in exchange for diplomatic
relations, maybe another party,” he added. But the case for allowing King
Abdullah to run the site, Pipes said, “is rather weak at this point.”
***Canaan Lidor is an award-winning journalist and news correspondent at JNS. A
former fighter and counterintelligence analyst in the IDF, he has over a decade
of field experience covering world events, including several conflicts and
terrorist attacks, as a Europe correspondent based in the Netherlands. Canaan
now lives in his native Haifa, Israel, with his wife and two children.
Why isn’t Biden enforcing his own sanctions against
Iran?
Emanuele Ottolenghi/The Hill/September 17/2024
The Biden administration periodically promulgates new sanctions against Iran and
its proxies. That is a sound policy. But sanctions without enforcement are easy
to circumvent.
Case in point: Last Tuesday, the Biden administration announced new sanctions
against Iran Air, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s flagship airline, and its 67
aircraft. The reason: Iran Air transported weapons to Russia, including
long-range missiles, in support of Moscow’s murderous aggression against
Ukraine. European allies have also suspended bilateral air service agreements.
Iran Air will now likely lose all its eight current routes to Europe. It is an
important step, but it will only affect Iran’s malign behavior if the Biden
administration now implements these sanctions by seizing aircraft at any
international airport. Washington must also punish ground service providers and
intermediaries with sanctions for providing material support to Iran’s aircraft.
Yet a key precedent in U.S. sanctions enforcement is not encouraging.
Consider the case of Mahan Air. In the past, the regime in Iran has relied on
Mahan aircraft, in addition to Iran Air’s fleet, to transport military personnel
to war-torn Syria in support of the regime of Bashar Assad. That was one of the
reasons Mahan Air could not benefit from the sanctions relief the Obama
administration offered Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran Air, in contrast,
was delisted under the agreement, and was able to buy brand-new Airbus aircraft
before the Trump administration left the nuclear deal in 2018. Mahan has been
heavily sanctioned in the past — mostly under the Obama and Trump
administrations. Washington put most (but not all) Mahan aircraft on its Office
of Foreign Assets Control blacklist. The U.S. also repeatedly sanctioned general
service agencies representing Mahan and providing it assistance around the
world.
However, Mahan just didn’t care, as Washington largely failed to enforce the
sanctions. Mahan flies among the largest fleet of Airbus A340s in the
world. Earlier this year, Mahan arranged for the transfer of three widebody
long-haul Airbus A340 that were registered with a Gambian leasing company and
were stored in Lithuania. Two of the three planes took off, ostensibly heading
to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, but eventually landed in Iran. Local
authorities managed to ground the third plane, reportedly loaded with aircraft
spare parts, before it could take off.
According to open-source data, the two planes Mahan has successfully procured
through Lithuania in 2024 to date were not the only ones it managed to acquire
since President Biden took office. In 2023, two more A340, formerly owned by
Turkish Airlines, joined the Mahan Air fleet. These were likely acquired to
replace three A340s that, in 2021, Mahan agreed to transfer to the Venezuelan,
U.S.-sanctioned airline Conviasa through a Dubai-based broker, alongside an old
Boeing 747 cargo plane. The planes duly reached Caracas, and while the U.S.
Department of Justice was able to seize the Boeing 747 in Argentina, the others
are operational, regularly flying to both Moscow and Tehran. To be sure,
Lithuanian authorities blocked one of these aircrafts from making its way to
Iran and the Biden administration seized another in Argentina. But the
intermediaries Mahan Air relied upon — those who brokered aircraft transfers and
sales to a U.S.-sanctioned malign actor and may have also assisted in the
procurement of vital spare parts for Iran’s aviation sector — have suffered no
consequences so far.
Not only did Mahan, then, manage to procure new aircraft to its fleet through
intermediaries and even transfer some of its aircraft to Venezuela, but it has
also done these things largely without consequences. These days, Mahan also
relies on this newly acquired aircraft to send arms to Hezbollah on regular
commercial flights to Lebanon. Mahan has no problem doing this, because the
limited losses incurred due to U.S. sanctions have done little to disrupt its
operations. This is a major flaw in the Biden administration’s sanctions policy
which, unless rectified, will diminish the impact of these new sanctions. Once
malign Iranian actors take consignment of their aircraft, there is little that
U.S. authorities can do to disrupt their flights to Moscow or Beirut. What
the U.S. can do, and did quite effectively until 2020, is target intermediaries
and service providers. Mahan, after all, does not fly only to destinations whose
authorities are hostile to America. The same Mahan aircraft that fly to Beirut
and Moscow, likely transporting military equipment in their cargo while posing
as passenger flights, also fly to many destinations in Asia, including India and
Thailand. The U.S. can try to seize these aircraft at least at some of these
destinations. It can sanction companies that refuel them, handle their cargo and
passenger luggage, sell their tickets, and provide other ground services. It
should certainly go after the intermediaries that brokered aircraft sales to
Mahan — something the Biden administration has yet to do.
Sanctions are not a silver bullet; they rarely take down a target with just one
attempt. Patient, long-term follow-up enforcement is what makes these measures
bite. Sanctioning Iran Air was an important step. Now comes the hard part.
**Emanuele Ottolenghi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, a non-partisan research foundation based in Washington, D.C., that
focuses on national security and foreign policy.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4878739-biden-sanctions-iran-air/
How Israel Lost a Battle to Al Jazeera — and How It Must
Do Better Next Time
David Adesnik/The Algemeiner/September 17/2024
If you are going to kill someone famous, be prepared to justify your actions.
On July 31, an Israeli airstrike killed Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul
along with his cameraman and a 17-year-old bystander. The strike came in broad
daylight, and footage of al-Ghoul’s decapitated body began to circulate on
social media. A wave of stories reported the death of another journalist in
Gaza. The Israeli military had no comment.
The next day, the IDF released a statement on social media asserting that Ghoul
was a Hamas military operative and part of the Nukhba force that carried out the
October 7 massacre.
Surging global media coverage took note of the Israeli statement, but its
emphasis remained on the tragic death of a young reporter who left behind a
widow and one-year-old daughter. After two additional days, the IDF returned to
social media, posting an image of a captured Hamas spreadsheet from 2021 that
identified Ghoul as an operative, along with his rank, specialty, and official
ID numbers. But the news cycle had moved on.
If the story ended there, the lesson would be straightforward: The IDF should
have a dossier of declassified intelligence ready to publicize the moment it
strikes a Hamas terrorist with a high-profile civilian day job.
Yet in the case of Ismail al-Ghoul, it is not classified documents, but his own
social media posts that provide much of the relevant information about his
attachment to Hamas.
The journalists who covered Ghoul’s demise clearly did not conduct basic due
diligence. Yet the IDF shares responsibility; Israeli intelligence should pay
close attention to its targets’ social media activity.
The first clue that Ghoul’s social media deserved closer scrutiny was his
decision to open a series of new accounts — and delete or suspend the old ones —
shortly after he began working for Al Jazeera during the first weeks of the
fighting in Gaza. He created a new Instagram account in November, as well as a
new Telegram channel. Next came a new Facebook page in December, and a second
new page in January. That same month, he launched two new X accounts and one on
TikTok. In February, he launched another Telegram channel.
The names of these new accounts incorporated some version of Ghoul’s name along
with the number two, suggesting they were successors to an earlier account.
For example, he chose “ismail_gh2” as the handle for both his Instagram account
and one of the two on X. The former now has more than 650,000 followers, while
the latter has more than 100,000. One of the two Facebook pages has another half
million followers while more than 45,000 users follow him on Telegram. If
nothing else, this should have made it clear to the IDF that they were dealing
with a target whose death could have a major political impact.
Although Ghoul disabled his original account on X, most of its contents remain
available thanks to the Internet Archive.
Eitan Fischberger, an Israel army veteran turned media analyst, examined Ghoul’s
posts in March. In a post from April 2020, the second month of the Covid-19
pandemic, Ghoul opined that the real disease is “the Israeli entity and every
Arab trying to normalize it,” adding the hashtag #COVID48, a reference to the
year of Israel’s founding.
In July of that year, Ghoul tweeted a graphic celebrating young Palestinians’
use of “alternative tools” against Israelis: knives, axes, rocks, and Molotov
cocktails.
Yet the most important piece of information to glean from Ghoul’s old X account
is the fact that he previously worked for two other media outlets — Felesteen
and al-Resalah — both aligned with Hamas.
Felesteen debuted in May 2007, becoming Palestinians’ fifth daily newspaper.
Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader recently assassinated in Iran, spoke at a
pre-launch reception for Felesteen. An interview with Haniyeh was the
centerpiece of its first edition. The Associated Press, which covered the
publication’s debut, described it as “a 24-page newspaper catering largely to
Hamas supporters and seen as an attempt by the Islamic militant group to
increase its influence.”
The precise nature of Ghoul’s work at Felesteen and al-Resalah is not clear; his
name does not appear on old bylines. Yet both publications lionize Hamas.
In a brief article on August 7, 2024, al-Resalah reported the selection of Yahya
Sinwar as Hamas’ new leader while noting the “brave, wise, and open-minded
leadership” of Ismail Haniyeh, Sinwar’s late predecessor. During his time at al-Resalah,
Ghoul said an Israeli soldier shot him, injuring his hand with shrapnel, while
he was covering protests at the Gaza-Israel border in 2018.
Despite Ghoul’s reinvention of his social media presence during the current war,
he chose to leave intact his personal Facebook profile, which remains public.
The clearest indication of his disposition toward Hamas is a photo he posted in
2021, showing Yahya Sinwar sitting defiantly in the ruins of his Gaza home.
Ghoul said of Sinwar, “May Allah protect you.” Ghoul also left no doubt that he
celebrated violence. In September 2023, he reposted another well-known image,
this one of Palestinian teenager Basel al-Shawamrah, who stabbed two Israelis
outside the Jerusalem Central Bus station. A photographer captured Shawamra
grinning contentedly while lying on a stretcher after he was shot. Ghoul
captioned the photo “The Smile of Victory.” On numerous occasions, Ghoul shared
photos of rocket fire from Gaza, calling the rockets “the pride of local
industry.”
According to the IDF, two of Ghoul’s cousins were also Hamas operatives. In
February, the IDF announced the death of Ahmed al-Ghoul, commander of the Shati
Battalion, “who participated in the massacre on October 7” and later held one of
the Israeli hostages, Cpl. Noa Marciano, whose remains were later found near al-Shifa
hospital.
In May, a second announcement reported the death of Naim al-Ghoul, a fighter in
the Shati Battalion, who also held Marciano before her death. Ismail al-Ghoul
posted photos of himself at his cousin’s funeral, shovel in hand, wearing a blue
flak jacket displaying the English word “PRESS” in large capital letters. Ghoul
described his cousin as “a man of humanity who continued to perform his
humanitarian duty sincerely.”
One source of support Ghoul could rely on was his wife, who posted many verses
in honor of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
During the clash the IDF calls Operation Protective Edge, she wrote to the
Qassam fighters, “May God protect you, make you steadfast and be with you.”
Above a photo of a Palestinian fighter she posted, “Fire your guns, don’t be
merciful.” Her timeline also includes commemorations of fighters such as Yahya
Ayyash, the bombmaker who equipped many suicide operatives in the 1990s.
She also denounced Palestinians who reject Hamas as agents of the Jews. Above a
photo of Jews dancing in Jerusalem on the anniversary of the IDF’s reclaiming
the city in 1967, Ghoul’s wife lamented, “Is there a more hideous sight than
this?”
None of this material on Facebook amounts to evidence that Ghoul was a Hamas
military operative. Nor do expressions of support for Hamas, nor even
justifications of its violence, render Ghoul a legitimate military target. Yet
they show he was an extremist and belie the post-mortem claims by Al Jazeera
that Ghoul was a model journalist. The network’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad,
wrote, “Ismail was renowned for his professionalism and dedication, bringing the
world’s attention to the suffering and atrocities committed in Gaza.”
Did the network know of Ghoul’s support for Hamas when it hired him? His
previous work on behalf of Felesteen and al-Resalah would have made his affinity
obvious. A review of Ghoul’s social media would not have required much effort.
Had the IDF prepared a suitable dossier with selections from Ghoul’s postings,
it might have turned the tables on Al Jazeera, pushing Western journalists to
press the network for answers. Instead, Western media uncritically reprinted
testimonials to Ghoul from admiring colleagues.
While the news cycle has passed, the IDF should nevertheless commit the manpower
necessary to produce a full dossier on Ghoul, including both declassified
intelligence and publicly available material. There is a tendency for past
incidents to become the subject of intense re-litigation. In January, an Israeli
airstrike killed two of Ghoul’s colleagues at Al Jazeera, Hamza Dahdouh and
Mustafa Thuraya. Three days later, the IDF released a screenshot of what it said
was a personnel roster from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas partner, showing
that Dahdouh belonged to an electronic engineering unit. Two months later, The
Washington Post published a detailed investigation asserting the innocence of
Dahdouh and Thuraya, while casting doubt on the document shared by the IDF. In
response to inquiries from the Post, the IDF simply responded, “We have nothing
to add.”
While the IDF may question the fairness of the Post’s coverage, its non-response
amounts to unilateral disarmament. When the re-litigation of Ghoul’s death
begins, the IDF should be better prepared. For instance, it should be able to
demonstrate the authenticity of the spreadsheet listing Ghoul as a Hamas
operative. On its own, the document has shortcomings. For example, there is a
column that lists the “Date of military rank” for each of the individuals
listed. Yet in the case of Ghoul and many others, this date precedes the “Date
of recruitment” by several years.
Other parts of the document hold up better under scrutiny. One column provides a
nine-digit ID for each individual. All of these have the correct format for the
numbers that the Israeli Ministry of the Interior assigns to Palestinians. Five
of the 33 names in the document also appear on the Gaza Health Ministry’s list
of the dead. Of those, two reportedly died on October 7, according to a
Palestinian NGO that tracks fatalities.
Four of the names on the spreadsheet belong to individuals that Ghoul’s Facebook
account lists as friends. One is Samer Balawi, who has not posted on Facebook
since May, yet his final post shows him standing side by side with Ghoul, both
smiling. It reveals little about their relationship, but underscores the
importance of synthesizing information from open source and classified
materials.
While the IDF may have lost the battle with Al Jazeera that followed Ghoul’s
death, the battle is not the war. The question is whether the IDF will learn
from this setback and be better prepared for the next round.
*David Adesnik is a senior fellow and director of research at the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies.