Fatah’s military arm claims shooting on Gush Etzion community

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades , the military arm of the Fatah movement led by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, claimed responsibility for a shooting attack on the community of Carmei Tzur in Gush Etzion.

A statement published by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades organization reads, “In response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and as part of the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ campaign (the October 7 attack), and with the help of Allah and his success, our fighters this evening succeeded in attacking with machine gun fire the settlement of Carmei Tzur, which was established on the lands of the village of Beit Ummar.”

The message concluded with the slogan, “This is a revolution until victory, until victory. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the military arm of the Fatah movement.”

In another statement, the terrorist group said that its members exchanged fire with IDF forces operating in the Balata camp in Shechem (Nablus), and threw a high-powered explosive device at a military vehicle. Terrorists from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades fired at an IDF position on Mount Gerizim on Saturday night.

In Tubas, terrorists from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades exchanged fire with an IDF special force that entered the town and encircled the home of a wanted terrorist. In this incident, too, the terrorists threw explosive devices at the Israeli force.

UNRWA demands immunity for employees implicated in October 7th massacre

In an official document submitted to the US court, the UN, backed by the US Department of Justice, claims that UNRWA employees who participated in the October 7th massacre be granted immunity from prosecution.

A full 10% of UNRWA employees are affiliated with a terror group, and at least 12 UNRWA employees participated directly in the October 7 massacre: Six were part of the wave of terrorists who breached the border fence and participated in the assault, two helped kidnap Israelis, two were tracked to sites where scores of Israelis were massacred, and other coordinated logistics for the attack – including the procurement of weapons.

In the document submitted to a US court, it is claimed that the UNRWA employees who participated in the massacre have immunity: “Since the UN has not waived their immunity in this case, its subsidiary organization, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit should be dismissed,” reads UNRWA’s response document.

The US Department of Justice added: ”The plaintiffs’ complaint does not present a theory under which the United Nations waived its immunity. Therefore, since the UN has not waived their immunity in this case, its subsidiary organization, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit against the defendant UNRWA should be dismissed due to the lack of subject matter.”

Israel has for some time pursued action against the UNRWA both domestically and abroad, including court cases and promoting legislation to have the organization dissolved. Along with state actions, groups of Israelis have been lobbying against the UNRWA privately. Since the massacre, the IDF has killed UNRWA workers in its anti-terrorist operations, stressing that they were either involved in the massacre or were aiding Hamas in the fighting in Gaza.

Questions for US Presidential and Congressional Candidates concerning a Proposed Two-State Solution

1. Will you demand that that the Palestinians finally ratify the “Declaration of Principles for Peace” signed on the White House lawn in 1993?

2. Will you demand that the Palestinians finally cancel their charter for the extermination of the Jewish State?

3. Will you demand that the Palestinians cancel their unprecedented law which mandates a salary for life for anyone who murders a Jew?

4. Will you demand cancellation of the new PA and UNRWA curriculum, based on Jihad, martyrdom and “right of return by force of arms”?

5. Will you demand the removal of all weapons from PA and UNRWA schools?

6. Will you insist that UNRWA dismiss employees affiliated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Fatah?

7. Will  you introduce UNHCR standards to advance resettlement of fourth- and fifth-generation refugees from the 1948 war who have spent seven decades relegated to refugee status? Current UNRWA policy is that any Arab refugee resettlement would interfere with a purported “right of return” to pre-1948 Arab localities.

8.   Will you demand an audit of donor funds that emanate from 68 nations for the PA and UNRWA, with little transparency?

9.   Given the active participation of the Palestine Security Force (PSF) in the current war, will you demand that the US cease its support of the PSF?

Hezbollah Pager Operation. A few personal thoughts.

Finland’s president defends decisions to buy Israeli arms, not recognise Palestinian state

HELSINKI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Finland’s President Alexander Stubb defended his country’s decision to buy arms from Israel despite the war in Gaza, saying it had no link to Finland’s unwillingness to recognise an independent Palestinian state at the present time.
Finland is acquiring, opens new tab a ground based, high altitude, missile defence system called David’s Sling from Israel. Helsinki considers the system a high priority for its own defence due to neighbouring Russia’s ongoing missile attacks on civilian and military targets in Ukraine.

The Epic Attack on Hizbullah Terrorists across Lebanon

An ingenious and unprecedented attack against thousands of operatives of the Hizbullah terrorist organization using exploding pagers was carried out in a dozen Hizbullah centers in Lebanon. Israel is preparing for the organization’s revenge response.

The United States is working through diplomatic channels to prevent regional escalation. Iran will determine the nature of Hizbullah’s response. The successful operation does not currently change Israel’s strategic situation.

Read More.

Washington’s View of Gaza Truce Does Not Align with Israel’s Security Interests

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The US has spent months trying to pressure Israel into a long-term ceasefire with Hamas that would serve American interests by reducing the danger of regional war that could drag in the US. But Washington’s view of a ceasefire in Gaza and subsequent regional de-escalation fails to address three of Israel’s critical security needs: to ensure the IDF’s freedom of operation in Gaza to prevent Hamas from regrouping; to counter Hezbollah’s massive military-terrorist infrastructure and stop its 11-month-long assault on northern Israel; and to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which are intended to provide a protective cover to the entire jihadist Iranian axis.

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Israel’s bravery has exposed the lie at the heart of Starmer’s foreign policy

Robbed of its moral bearings, bereft of any sense of right and wrong, incapable of distinguishing heroes from villains, the West can no longer celebrate when good triumphs over evil…

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If Ukraine must be allowed to fight, why isn’t Israel?

I’ve been watching a brilliant documentary on BBC2, The Zelensky Story. If you’ve not seen it, I recommend you search it out on iPlayer. Apart from anything else, the archive footage of his early years is fascinating. I hadn’t fully appreciated just how huge a star the proudly Jewish Volodymyr Zelensky was in Ukraine when he ran for the presidency – think Peter Kay, Ant and Dec and Ricky Gervais rolled into one.

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Wretched

10/09/2024. London, United Kingdom. Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. King Charles Street. Picture by Ben Dance / FCDO

Early this past Sunday morning, I was looking at the news headlines and reading the latest wretched pontifications from Blinken and Lammy.

They were reported as once again professing their “support” for Israel but, in the same breath, issuing a warning. Their conditional “love” came with a caveat that despite any provocations, Israel must avoid escalatory actions.

I had hardly finished reading this astounding piece of morally reprehensible advice when, precisely at 6:38 a.m., a loud boom sounded, followed by a series of lesser explosions. Knowing that the seasons were changing, I thought at first that this heralded a thunderstorm, but looking out the window, I could see that this was not the case.

The next possibility was the detonation of a terrorist bomb, but in the absence of sirens and other security activity, I realized that no such event had occurred.

That left the probability of a rocket or missile impact somewhere. Sure enough, breaking news quickly revealed that a Houthi-launched missile had broken up over central Israel and fallen on open ground.

How ironic but somehow timely that this latest manifestation of Iranian-sponsored intentions should occur at the very moment that Israel was being warned not to “escalate” action.

It demonstrates, yet again, more pathetic appeasement so beloved of those whose weasel words carry no hint of determination to actually defeat the axis of evil currently confronting not only Israel but also rapidly diminishing democracies.

When Israel retaliates for this latest attack and any future missile strikes, you can be sure that Blinken and Lammy will be at the forefront of a concerted chorus of condemnation. It does not take a genius to predict the convulsions emanating forth from the UN and “morally outraged” foreign ministries when Israel actually acts to defend its citizens. The UN Secretary-General will once more display his righteous wrath not at the criminal terrorists but at the intended victims for having the audacity to actually hit back.

Australia and New Zealand willingly participated in the latest resolution charade at the UN. Australia abstained and then apologised for not voting in favour of condemning Israel. NZ voted with all the slanderers and hypocrites and then pretended it remains even-handed. It is pitiful to see when craven double standards and spinelessness combine in order to appease facilitators of international terror and distorters of history.

The wretched process of duplicitous double standards is not something that has suddenly sprouted. It has always lurked in the political undergrowth and, like noxious weeds, spread its poisonous tentacles, waiting for an ideal opportunity to burst forth.

The amazing aspect about these particular obsessions is the knee-jerk reactions, which conveniently overlook horrendous acts in the rest of the world while concentrating their venom on Israel.

Take the case of Sudan, which, after fifteen months of terror with thousands dead and millions displaced, elicits nary a peep from the UN and human rights champions worldwide. No university protests, no mass demonstrations, no boycotts and certainly no lost sleep by all those convulsing over Israel.

Allegedly, “peaceful” demonstrations by professional agitators are used to cause mayhem and violence, resulting in inevitable casualties. Overseas recruits are used to show the media that outrage against Israel is a universal virtue. When these participants become casualties, the wrath of the hypocrites descends.

Thus, the UN Secretary General suddenly springs to life and Joe Biden wakes from his slumber to express his outrage. Strangely, however, there is a deathly silence when Israelis, Jews and non-Jews alike, are murdered by terror groups. When a US dual citizen is blown up or shot, there is a momentary expression of regret, but otherwise, it is just business as usual.

This usually is followed by a stream of unsolicited advice usually focused on the need to placate the murderers and a warning not to react in any sort of provocative manner.

Using civilians as human shields, firing rockets from the midst of schools, clinics, kindergartens, mosques and homes attracts no sort of international censure. Instead, when Israel attacks these terror nests, everyone convulses in righteous indignation, not at the terrorists but at the country attempting to protect its citizens.

After the six Israeli hostages were executed by Hamas, the usual perfunctory crocodile tears were activated, replaced swiftly thereafter by admonitions against any retaliatory measures. Everyone seems to have already forgotten that PA/Fatah and Hamas have pledged eternal comradeship with Chinese patronage. Despite this open display of mutual terror ambitions, the US State Department declared that “the Palestinian Authority remains a partner and is committed to peace.” This brilliant piece of diplomatic duplicity followed an attack against Israeli civilians in Judea.

The inevitable question follows – where are the human rights champions?

Obviously, the gangster execution of Israeli kidnapped hostages was not important enough for the likes of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to condemn. After nearly a year of captivity, the International Red Cross has yet to gain access to the hostages and distribute donated lifesaving medications. Like their predecessors who preferred to be fooled by the Nazis and refused to do anything meaningful about blowing the whistle on the concentration camps, today’s representatives have also lapsed into a shameful silence.

Despite clear evidence that it was Hamas who carried out the executions, the United Nations Human Rights Council declared that there was a need to “investigate” who actually did the dastardly deed.

Eleven months after the 7 October pogrom, the US Administration finally got around to issuing Federal terror charges against Hamas leaders. What took them so long? Why has it taken them all this time to actually apportion blame? If elections were not looming, would it have ever happened? Finally, what practical effect will this useless gesture actually achieve?

Meanwhile, the aspiring Ottoman sultan revealed yet again his animosity and ingrained hate against the Jewish State. He issued a rallying cry for the formation of an Islamic alliance against Israel, led no doubt by himself as a latter-day saviour and reincarnation of Saladin. In case his message was not clear enough, Erdogan went on to assert that “Israel seeks to occupy Lebanon, Syria and Turkey between the Tigris and the Euphrates.”

One would think that this outburst of unhinged lies might evince some sort of protest and consequences. Unfortunately, thanks to the morally decrepit state of international relations, neither the UN nor NATO issued any sort of reprimand. Turkey remains a member of good standing at the UN despite flinging the most outrageous slanders against another member state. Instead of NATO expelling Turkey, it looks the other way, and by inaction, it merely validates the hate.

As Hezbollah rockets pound northern Israel and thousands remain homeless, a top US official explains what passes for a magic solution. Diplomacy, he asserts, is the only way to avert catastrophic consequences. Presumably, it is the same sort of diplomacy that resulted in a spectacular end to human rights in Afghanistan and abandoned allies to the tender mercies of the Taliban. The extinguishing of Tibetan independence is another example of brilliant US diplomacy. The Iranian march to nuclear blackmail status is another victory for US diplomacy. In the face of Iranian drones being sent to Russia, plus continuing Russian and Chinese support for the Mullahs, we can all see how successful US diplomatic measures have been. North Korea’s blatant development of nuclear weapons is another perfect example of “successful” US diplomacy in action.

Is it any wonder that most sane Israelis have nothing but contempt for the wretched situations that currently prevail?

The worst part is the complete absence of any international leader like Winston Churchill, who is prepared to defeat today’s axis of evil.