Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinian Authority slams Hamas over talks with US, urges it to resume ‘national sanity’

2025-03-14

[IsraelTimes] The Palestinian Authority condemns Hamas for holding negotiations with the United States regarding Gaza’s future, saying this harms Palestinian unity and violates a law against communications with foreign parties.

In a statement issued on PA mouthpiece WAFA last night, presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh alleges the talks circumvent and “weaken” the Arab consensus in favor of Egypt’s plan for postwar Gaza, as well as the efforts to confront US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace all the Strip’s population.

Highlighting the longstanding split between the PA-controlled West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza, Abu Rudeineh urges the terror group “to come back to national sanity, end the intra-Palestinian division, and hand over the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian National Authority, so that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank would be reunited under the rule of a single national authority, a single law, a single weapon, and a single legitimate political representation.”

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Capital of Suicide Bombers: Israel Ends One War and Starts Another

2025-01-23

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] Having barely agreed on the contours of a ceasefire with Hamas, Israel has turned its attention to the West Bank (WB), where, according to the country's authorities, there has been a "sharp increase in the terrorist threat."

The counter-terrorist operation, dubbed "Iron Wall," initiated by Tel Aviv has been launched in the Jenin province. In addition to army units, members of the Magav (Border Police) and the General Security Service (Shabaq) have also been deployed.

The Israelis insist that the current operation is planned and differs little from previous raids on the West Bank. However, in reality it is perceived more as an attempt by the Israeli establishment to quickly switch attention from domestic problems to countering a common enemy.

RESTLESS JENIN
On Israeli operational maps, Jenin is traditionally classified as a "red zone" and is considered a key "sore spot" in the Judea and Samaria region (the Israeli term for the West Bank).

One of the reasons is the weak governance of these territories. Despite the fact that Jenin is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), much more than officials in the PNA capital Ramallah, the influence "on the ground" is exercised by the commanders of the Palestinian battalion "Jenin", hostile to official Tel Aviv.

The Israelis explicitly call the city among themselves the “center of Palestinian terrorism” and the “capital of suicide bombers,” which causes the security forces to constantly pay attention to it, especially after the bloody battles in Gaza.

Attempts to fight the enemy using raid methods are interspersed with periodic large-scale operations. Thus, the previous counter-terrorist operation in the vicinity of Jenin (August 2024) resulted in significant destruction of suburban neighborhoods and public infrastructure.

This time, Israeli security forces targeted the administrative center directly.

The Israeli offensive came amid sporadic clashes between the Palestinian Authority and armed groups in Jenin.

For a month, security forces loyal to the official Ramallah tried unsuccessfully to force opponents to surrender, as well as to disarm them.

Interestingly, at the height of the confrontation, in December 2024, Ramallah even tried to get “patronage” from the US President in the form of urgent deliveries of ammunition, helmets, body armor, radios, night vision devices, explosive disposal suits and armored vehicles.

However, Israel blocked the supplies out of fear that the ammunition and supplies could fall into the hands of Palestinian battalions.

The situation in Jenin was relatively stabilized by mid-January, when the PNA security forces and the commanders of local armed groups agreed to a gradual withdrawal of forces and the voluntary surrender of weapons by the “Jenin freebooters.”

However, the Iron Wall brought these efforts to naught: the Palestinian security forces were replaced by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

IRAN AS A COVER
Despite the fact that the IDF action in Jenin is positioned primarily as an operation to disorganize the terrorist underground in the West Bank, the Israeli authorities do not hide the fact that they are fighting on a broader front.

Thus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting on the results of the “Iron Wall,” indicated that the efforts of the army and intelligence services in Jenin are part of a strategy to counter Iranian influence.

"This is an additional step in achieving our goal of strengthening security in Judea and Samaria. We act methodically and decisively against the Iranian axis, wherever it penetrates - Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria - and we continue to act actively," the Israeli prime minister concluded.

The Iranian side has not commented on the events in Jenin. Moreover, Iranian strategists do not include the West Bank in the “resistance zone.” And if they do, then only in passing, prioritizing support for loyal forces in the Gaza Strip. This positioning is due to both the unstable positions of anti-Israeli groups in this area and fears of violating the consensus with the PNA’s regional partners — Egypt and Jordan.

However, the return of official Tel Aviv to promoting the theme of “Iranian influence” in Palestine is not accidental.

With the ruling coalition in Israel continuing to split and some far-right politicians leaving it, Netanyahu desperately needs to keep the remaining right-wing parties in his orbit. This can only be done through quick and decisive victories.

And “restless Jenin” is perfect for such adventures – especially since there are still many in Netanyahu’s entourage who want to strengthen Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, including under the guise of fighting the terrorist threat.

Moreover, by skillfully juggling the thesis of the "Iranian trace" in Jenin, the current prime minister can undermine the position of the parliamentary opposition. Especially since it was under the government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, whose parties today form the backbone of the opposition in the Knesset, that Tel Aviv's attention to this area weakened.

In this context, the implementation of the “Iron Wall” is also positioned as a correction of other people’s mistakes, as well as proof that Israel maintains control over the situation in Palestine.

And this already somewhat shades the recent miscalculations of official Tel Aviv in Gaza and calms down the right-wing politicians who were about to leave. At least, this is what Netanyahu himself thinks.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Why the New White House Won't Help Netanyahu Take the West Bank

2024-11-15

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] Arguing ahead of evidence. I don’t know which way President Trump will fall on this particular question, but he and Bibi are coordinating their response, whatever it will be.
Newly elected US President Donald Trump has not yet moved into the White House, but his Israeli allies have already mentally tried on the vector of the future policy of the Republican administration to suit their own interests.

In the highest offices of Israel, there is a conviction that Trump's second presidential term will be a continuation of the first, which means that it is possible to continue to act within the framework of the previous logic.

For this reason, the West Bank of the Jordan River (WBJR), where Israel has been engaged in a “creeping expansion” for years, occupying disputed lands with settlers, has been in the spotlight in recent days.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the apologists for settlement control over the ZBRI, does not hide the fact that he sees Trump's presidency as an "important opportunity" to apply Israeli sovereignty to semi-legal settlements. Moreover, he wants to achieve full control over these territories as early as 2025.

However, Trump apparently thinks otherwise.

DISPUTED COAST
The conflict over the status of settlements on the West Bank has been going on since the second half of the 1960s, when the territory came under Israeli control following the Yom Kippur War.

Since 1995, following the signing of the Oslo II Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, parts of the West Bank have been controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which was created as a result of these agreements.

However, this does not prevent the Israelis from actively developing the ZBRI by creating new Israeli settlements, thereby further blurring the status of the disputed territories.

Under the current government, the “settlement expansion” has reached record levels. Since the beginning of 2023, the Israeli government has legalized more than 12,000 buildings in disputed territories, and by the middle of that year, it had agreed on a plan to create new settlements.

Moreover, at least four of them were planned for construction in the ZBRI zones previously abandoned by the Israelis, which violated the long-standing status quo between Tel Aviv and the relatively neutral PNA.

However, the project's progress was hampered by criticism from the United States. Moreover, a number of Israeli public organizations associated with the settlers were even subject to sanctions.

However, with the arrival of Trump, the hawks have hoped to give new impetus to the advancement in the West Bank.

"BEST FRIEND"
The return of the Republicans to the White House was awaited with poorly concealed impatience in Israel. Under the Democrats, the dialogue between Washington and Tel Aviv went into a nosedive, especially after the outbreak of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

For almost a year, the United States tried in vain to impose its vision of a regional settlement on the Israelis, while Israel sought an opportunity to torpedo the inconvenient “deal.”

And although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to balance publicly between the Democratic and Republican wings until the very end, already during an official visit to Washington in July 2024, the Israeli establishment made a final bet on the "elephant party." Especially since it was the Republicans who provided the lion's share of support for the actions of the Israeli army in the enclave.

Trump was remembered by Netanyahu as “Israel’s best friend,” who did much to strengthen the Jewish state’s regional ambitions. It was he who, in 2017, was among the first to upset the balance of interests between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as the country's capital and supported Israeli claims to the disputed Golan Heights, declaring them part of Israel's territory in 2019. In addition, in 2019, Washington deliberately distanced itself from the topic of Israeli settlements in the ZBRI, calling the issue "an internal matter of Israeli jurisdiction," which made it easier for Tel Aviv to legalize the houses being built.

After all, it was at the instigation and with the energetic participation of Trump that a new stage of Arab-Israeli normalization took place, providing Tel Aviv with the opportunity to do business with the Gulf sheikhs.

PRO-ISRAEL TEAM
Hints of the White House’s imminent “pro-Israel turn” can also be seen in the first appointments to Trump’s team. Most of the high-ranking officials – be it Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, future National Security Advisor Mike Walz, or the nominee for the post of US Ambassador to the UN Elise Stefanik – either have close ties to the Israeli government or support the political course taken by Tel Aviv.

The candidacy for the post of US Ambassador to Israel is also highly symbolic: it is conservative Mike Huckabee, known for his ardent support of Israel’s “settlement expansion.”

The Israeli leadership also tried to "play to the beat" by appointing former settler leader Yechiel Leiter as ambassador to Washington. However, this appointment did not generate much enthusiasm among Republicans.

OTHER PRIORITIES
Israeli politicians' belief in Trump's readiness to promptly support expansion in the West Bank is based solely on the logic of his previous management decisions, and also partly on his election promises to "more decisively support" Tel Aviv.

Of course, the Israelis will get far more support from the White House than the Democrats. But expansionists are missing the changed regional landscape in which Trump must navigate.

First of all, it is important for the Republican to maintain working contacts with two ardent opponents of Israeli “settlement expansion” – Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump expects to use their resources for further settlement of the conflict in Gaza, as well as for soft containment of Chinese economic expansion in the Middle East.

Secondly, Trump is not eager to expose another regional partner, Jordan, to additional risk. With the onset of the Gaza crisis, it has already faced unrest among Palestinians living in the kingdom, and destabilization of the situation in the ZBRI does not bode well for the Jordanians.

Finally, it is not in the interests of the new US administration to give Iran an additional point of pressure on the domestic political situation in Israel, especially since the issue of maintaining a balance of interests in the ZBRI is relevant not only for the PNA, but also for a number of Arab parties from the so-called “Joint Arab List”.

It is quite remarkable that Trump had been signaling his unwillingness to get involved in the West Bank story on the Israeli side long before he was elected president, and upon moving to the White House, he will most likely remain in the same position.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the new US president will nevertheless make an exception for his “old friends” and publicly remind them that, from the US position, the situation in the ZBRI is an internal matter for Israel. However, such a public pass will most likely require the Netanyahu government to make concessions to the US in other areas – primarily in matters of completing the operation in Gaza and in Lebanon.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Live updates: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza, Israel says

2024-10-18

Follow-up to this story from yesterday.

[NBCNEWS]

Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.

In an address today, Vice President Kamala Harris said Sinwar's death "gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza."

Sinwar, who was born in a refugee camp and spent years in an Israeli prison before he rose to the top of the Iran-backed militant group, was described as a ''dead man walking'' by the Israeli military in the days after the Oct. 7 attacks.

After Sinwar's body was found and before he was definitively identified, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X: "'You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.' — Leviticus 26. Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them.''

Hostages' families have called on the Israeli government to use Sinwar's death to negotiate for their relatives' release, while Palestinians are voicing hope that it may bring an end to the war.

8:24 PM EDT
A drone identified Sinwar, IDF says

Israeli forces identified three Hamas militants moving from house to house yesterday when Sinwar fled into a building on his own, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing today.

The military sent in a drone that identified a masked man with a wounded hand, who has since been identified as Sinwar, before he threw a wooden plank at the drone, Hagari said. A video from the drone released by the IDF shows a man sitting down in a destroyed building, but his face is entirely covered, and he does not turn his face to the camera.

“We found him wearing a vest, carrying a gun, and with 40,000 shekels,” Hagari said. “He was on the run, fleeing, and our forces eliminated him.”

7:43 PM EDT
Death of Sinwar won't affect the conditions of Hamas' demands, Gazan says

While Sinwar's death may give Netanyahu a "bonus" in his political standing, Thabaat El-Moaar is unconvinced it will change Hamas' demands.

El-Mooar, a writer and political analyst who spoke to NBC News in Khan Younis, said Sinwar's is just one of a long list of assassinations that have not stopped the "resistance." El-Moaar does not believe that changes Hamas' standing or forces a surrender.

"According to Netanyahu, he has accomplished achievements on the ground," he said. "These achievements indeed satisfied Netanyahu, but it won’t stop the resistance."

With Sinwar dead, there is no more justification for the war, said El-Moaar, who called for a deal to end the war and release the hostages.

5:40 PM EDT
Sinwar's killing could mark 'new phase' for Hamas, expert says

Sinwar's death is "significant for Israel's government ... at the very least in terms of it being a political win, with the commemoration of the Oct. 7 attack only having just passed," Mahdi Ghuloom, a regional security analyst at Le Beck International, told NBC News.

In an email before Israel confirmed it had killed Sinwar, Ghuloom said the development could "present a window of opportunity for cease-fire talks to resume," adding: "Sinwar was reportedly a big barrier to such talks from succeeding."

"We are already seeing statements by Israeli hostage families calling on PM Netanyahu to grasp such an opportunity and secure a hostage release deal. Whether the Israeli government does seize this opportunity remains to be seen, as well as who may replace Sinwar," he said.

He said Sinwar's death could also "mark a new phase for Hamas" in its approach to the fight against Israeli forces.

5:17 PM EDT
Sinwar and two others opened fire on Israeli troops, IDF says

Intelligence tipped off the IDF that Hamas leadership was near the Rafah area, which led to weeks of operations in southern Gaza, IDF spokesperson Doron Spielman told MSNBC.

The area the leaders could move in was restricted, which Spielman said troops hoped would force them to make a mistake. Sinwar eventually fell into the trap when he and two others started firing on IDF soldiers, he said.

"The Israeli troops returned fire — also with a tank mortar shell — the mortar shell hit the building, killing Sinwar and the other terrorists," Spielman said.

4:09 PM EDT
Israel dealt a 'lethal blow' to Hamas by killing Sinwar, researcher says

Hamas may be forced to accept defeat now that Israel has dealt it a "lethal blow" in killing Sinwar, researcher Burcu Ozcelik told NBC News.

Ozcelik, who worked at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, described Sinwar as a "cult of personality" leader whom his followers regarded as “near invincible.”

"With Sinwar, an intractable and non-compromising Hamas leader, now gone, it may be possible for Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, alongside regional states, to begin planning for the ‘day after’ scenario in Gaza," Ozcelik said.

The remaining question is whether that will mean an end to the military campaign in Gaza, which will have to consider Hamas' remaining power and the status of the remaining hostages.

"If the hostages can be returned safely, this will undoubtedly be a major victory for the IDF and Netanyahu, whose legacy will now include the killing of the architect of the October 7th attack," Ozcelik said.

1:20 PM EDT
Sinwar's death a message to others to 'surrender,' defense minister says

Israel has brought justice to its citizens by killing Sinwar, the man who orchestrated the Oct. 7 terror attack that killed 1,200 people last year, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in an address today.

“Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run — he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself," Gallant said.

The defense minister noted that Sinwar is the latest in a string of assassinations of both Hamas and Hezbollah leadership in recent months. He called it a "clear message" to the residents of Gaza and the rest of Hamas' militants.

"Go out with the hostages, free them, and surrender," Gallant said.

Courtesy of Frank G:

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar weakly threw piece of wood at Israeli drone just moments before he was killed, shocking footage shows
[NY Post] At least this cowardly POS knew his exit to hell was coming. Vids/pics at link
An Israeli drone captured Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s last minutes alive — as the Oct. 7 mastermind swung a piece of wood in a futile attempt to take out the device before he was killed, officials said.

Shocking footage shows the moment a drone is deployed to check a building in Rafah that a group of IDF soldiers hit on Thursday.

An injured Sinwar, who had his face covered, could be seen sitting alone on a couch in the destroyed building, with the IDF soldiers unaware that they were seeing the very man they had been hunting for since he ordered the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on the Jewish state.

When Sinwar finally notices the drone hovering just a few feet from him, he struggles to fling an object at the UAV in a last ditch effort to keep his whereabouts hidden.

The soldiers then ordered a second strike on the building, killing Sinwar and two other Hamas terrorists who were traveling with him.

Yahya Sinwar's Bodyguard was a UNRWA ‘teacher’
[Insty]

Hi @antonioguterres 👋
This is the ID carried by Sinwar's bodyguard 👇
An "UNRWA 🇺🇳 Teacher".
Any comments? pic.twitter.com/TkZ0A7bvRP
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) October 17, 2024

Courtesy of Fred, the Times of Israel adds:

A passport found on Yahya Sinwar belongs to an UNRWA teacher who has been in Egypt for the past few months, the Kan broadcaster’s Paleostinian affairs news hound tweets.

The passport is in the name of Rafah native Hani Zourob.

Kan’s news hound says Zourob has clarified that he is in Egypt and that UNRWA says he crossed out of Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
via Rafah in April.

Was he really the bodyguard, or was Mr. Yahya just carrying the ID card in a clever but vain attempt to fool the IDF hunters?
More from the Times of Israel:

On Thursday morning, troops searching the building looked at the face of the slain terrorist whom the drone had spotted, and noticed that he resembled Sinwar. The Shin Bet took DNA and part of his finger to verify his identity. No hostages were with Sinwar at the time.

The IDF said the firefight on Wednesday took place in the same area as the six hostages were held and killed.

It also said that the IDF had checked when the six hostages’ bodies were recovered whether terrorists killed in the area had included Sinwar. This was found not to be the case, but indications, including DNA evidence, were found at the time that Sinwar had been in the area.

Channel 12 said the body suspected to be that of Sinwar was not immediately brought back to Israel because the area where it was found was heavily booby-trapped. The body also had a military vest carrying grenades.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Abbas in Moscow: Russia Presses US Weakness in Middle East

2024-08-16

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov

It is clear that Russia does not have the leverage to stop the conflict in Gaza and to set conditions for peace between Israel and Palestine.

[REGNUM] On August 13, Vladimir Putin received the leader of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and head of the Palestinian movement Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Zakharova announces preparations for the evacuation of Russians living in Palestine

2023-10-11

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russian citizens in Israel can leave this country, since flights continue to operate, and the issue of evacuating Russian citizens from Palestine is being worked out, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on October 10.

Russians citizens in Gaza? Why would Russian citizens go there?

Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova
“The possibility of evacuating fellow citizens who asked for help from the combat zone is being explored. And Russian diplomatic missions are preparing relevant lists and providing the necessary assistance to those in need,” Zakharova said at a ministry briefing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed diplomatic departments to maintain close contacts with fellow citizens, and citizens themselves are also recommended to be in touch with diplomats to minimize threats, she noted.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian mission to the Palestinian National Authority, Aliya Zaripova, said that 400 people had already expressed a desire to leave the Gaza Strip, including citizens of Ukraine and Belarus.

On October 10, the Israel Defense Forces announced the launch of a large-scale attack on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The autonomy authorities, in turn, reported that the death toll from Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank of the Jordan River reached 788 people.

As a result of attacks by Hamas in Israel, two Russian citizens were killed, the Russian Embassy reported. One of the dead was a 47-year-old native of the Kaliningrad region, who worked in the Israeli police, reported IA Regnum . Hamas representatives stated that among those captured were dozens of people with dual citizenship, including Russian. This information is being verified, the Kremlin noted. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously urged Russian citizens not to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and fellow citizens already there to exercise maximum caution.

On October 7, Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israeli territory, and several settlements were also captured. Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to official data, more than 900 people were killed in Israel, more than 100 people were captured, and almost 800 people were killed in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities announced the transfer of the state to a state of war. The Israel Defense Forces said that 300,000 reservists had been called up for service and that the operation was moving “to the phase of the complete destruction of Hamas.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas strike on Israel was an unexpected catastrophe for the local authorities and a failure for Washington, an expert at the Association of Military Political Scientists, an associate professor of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at the Russian Economic University, noted earlier in an interview with IA Regnum . G. V. Plekhanov Oleg Glazunov . The incident indicates the loss of influence of the United States in the Middle East, the expert believes.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Two Ukrainian citizens die in Israel

2023-10-09

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Kiev received confirmation of the death of two women who had Ukrainian citizenship, official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleg Nikolenko told reporters on October 8.

“Both citizens lived in the country for a long time. Consuls provide the necessary assistance and maintain contact with relatives ,” the official said.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel said it was taking measures to repatriate the bodies. The diplomatic mission added that they have no information that any Ukrainians went missing or were injured.

Israel reported on October 8 that the number of civilians killed by attacks by the Palestinian Hamas movement exceeded 600 people, and more than 2,000 people were injured.

The armed conflict began on the morning of October 7, when Hamas militants launched a massive rocket attack on Israel, and then entered its territory and captured several settlements and military installations. The Israel Defense Forces are fighting to regain control of the territories; on October 8 they reported that they had killed more than 400 militants .

In this case, the commander of the Israeli Nahal infantry brigade, Yonatan Steinberg, was killed.

More from regnum.ru
Israeli Ambassador says Russians may be among Hamas hostages

Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said on October 8 that Russians could be among the large number of hostages taken by Hamas.

Israeli Ambassador Ben Zvi: Russians may be among Hamas hostages
“The number of hostages is high, but there is no exact data yet. Many people mention a number of around a hundred. They say that there may be Russian citizens,” the diplomat told TASS.

On the morning of October 7, Hamas struck Israel. The country's Defense Army said more than two thousand missiles were used in the attack. In response, the Israeli military attacked Hamas targets , hitting three command centers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army had completed the first phase of Operation Iron Swords, destroying most of the Hamas militants who had infiltrated the country amid shelling.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that at least 20 thousand Gazans have fled their homes due to the fighting. The Israeli Ministry of Health reported that more than 300 people were killed and more than 1.5 thousand were injured in Hamas attacks. The number of deaths due to Israeli retaliatory strikes on the morning of October 8 increased to 256 people, and the number of wounded to 1,788 people.

Later, on October 8, the Israel Defense Forces announced the elimination of more than 400 Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began to escalate. In addition, dozens more people were captured.

Even more from regnum.ru
Russian Mission will check the data on the abduction of Russian women by Hamas militants

The Russian mission will check information about the possible kidnapping of Russian women by militants of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Israel, Aliya Zaripova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign office under the Palestinian National Authority, told a TASS correspondent.

“There is no confirmation at the moment,” Zaripova replied.

She also noted that the evacuation of Russians from Palestinian territory is possible, but not yet discussed.

On the morning of October 7, Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), more than two thousand rockets were used to attack Tel Aviv and other cities . In response, the IDF launched strikes on three Hamas command centers .

The Hamas movement also announced that it had captured dozens of Israeli soldiers and officers.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, more than 300 people were killed, and more than 1.5 thousand were injured as a result of attacks from the Gaza Strip. At the same time, 256 people were killed as a result of Israeli army strikes on the Gaza Strip. The number of wounded reached 1,788 people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on October 8 that the Israeli army had completed the first phase of Operation Iron Swords against the radical Hamas movement.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Four Reasons for Israel's Biggest Operation in Palestine in 20 Years

2023-07-05

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Gevorg Mirzayan

[REGNUM] “We are alarmed by the scale of the air and ground operations being carried out in Jenin in the occupied West Bank and the airstrikes against a densely populated refugee camp,” Vanessa Huguenin , a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in a June 4 statement to TASS .

The poor darling. How dreadful for her.

So she commented on the course of the operation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which is already being called the largest action of Israeli troops in the West Bank over the past 20 years.

Hugenin cites data from the Arab side: the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Authority reports the death of ten people,

...by this morning it was thirteen. It’s one of those FAFO thingies...

including three children. "At least 100 people were injured, 20 of them are reported to be in critical condition,"
[What were the numbers for Chicago?]
the spokeswoman for the United Nations Humanitarian Office said.

The Israeli side emphasizes that the targets of the counter-terrorist operation in Jenin were exclusively objects of Islamist groups. The city in the north of the West Bank "has become a place where terrorists feel safe," Maria Mikhelson, head of the IDF's European press service, told RIA Novosti . “All roads lead to Jenin. Money from Iran and Gaza to finance terrorism flows into Jenin, Mikhelson said. “Stolen weapons, including M16 rifles and Kalashnikovs, are also being diverted to Jenin .” According to the Israeli side, about fifty attacks were planned from Jenin over the past year.

"Restoration of Israeli containment" - as the army operation in Jenin was officially designated - began on the night of July 3. In total, the Israeli military designated several dozen targets, some of which were hit by drones, and some were attacked by ground forces.

“In recent months, Jenin has become a real safe haven for terrorists. And there should not be such shelters, ” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on the territory of the US Embassy.

At this time, the Palestinian side reported ten dead civilians, hundreds of wounded and thousands of those who were forced to flee their homes, fearing the arrival of the Israeli military. The Red Crescent Organization announced the evacuation of hundreds of families from the refugee camp. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has cut off all contact with Israel, the Wafa news agency reported.

The head of the autonomy, Mahmoud Abbas,

...it’s not an autonomy, merely an authority...

in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on July 3, spoke about the resumption of the format of the "Middle East Quartet" (Russia-UN-US-EU) in connection with the actions of the Israeli army. Abbas's previous call to Moscow, we note, took place quite recently - on July 1, the Palestinian leader fully supported the actions of the Russian authorities to suppress the military rebellion.

I can’t imagine Israel is interested in wasting time again on something that failed so thoroughly the first time.

Now the Palestinian leader is more concerned about the situation "at home". Abbas ordered to convene an emergency meeting the other day with the participation of all Palestinian groups to counter Israel, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador in Moscow, said on July 4.

From Israel's point of view, now "the operation is close to achieving its goals," the head of the country's National Security Council, Tzachi Khanegbi , announced on July 4 . The IDF has about ten targets left in the Palestinian refugee camp adjacent to Jenin, which the military intends to search in the coming hours, the press service of the Israeli army said.

“The resistance of the armed militants tonight was low, they were running away from the targets we were getting to,” TASS quoted Daniel Hagari, head of the army press center, as saying . At the same time, at the same time, Minister of Defense Yoav Galant, at a meeting with the generals, said: it is necessary to ensure the freedom of action of the troops on the ground.

FROM "WALL" TO "HOUSE"
The current IDF operation, dubbed "Operation Frontage House," has two important differences from the military operations that accompanied the now-familiar reports that "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated again."

Firstly, the Israeli army launched an operation not against Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip (which is controlled by the Hamas group, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist), but against the West Bank, where the Fatah group, led by Abbas, rules, sort of like leading with Tel Aviv dialogue.

True, except that the Palestinian Authority (which we are supposed to pretend is not just Fatah) has no control over Jenin and its “refugee camp” neighbourhood.

Secondly, this is not just some kind of raid, but a large-scale military operation involving parts of the ground forces, aviation, and special services.

Small scale military op, I’d think. Especially compared to the Russian conquest of the Ukraine...

Therefore, the current events are compared with the “Defensive Wall” operation twenty years ago - the IDF led it in the West Bank against Fatah (which was then led by Yasser Arafat ).

Yasser Arafat was known for his red binder and an unhealthy fondness for his personal guards. Nobody knows what happened to the former, but the latter may have accidentally been the cause of his death.

However, Israel's then tough response to a series of terrorist attacks at the height of the second Palestinian intifada was both longer and bloodier - the operation went on for a month and a half and claimed the lives of almost 500 Palestinians.

Really, then, the current excursion is nothing to fuss about. Particularly not for 1740 words.

The main question now is why Israel decided to hold. After all, the Fatah regime, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, did not cause Israel particularly big problems. Moreover, the Israeli authorities did not try to create problems for him either - in their opinion, the strong conciliatory Fatah was a necessary counterbalance for the Hamas radicals, who were also supported by hostile Iranians. Why now attack and break off relations (which was quite predictably stated from the PNA office in Ramallah)? Experts and analysts identify four reasons.

MOTIVES AND NEEDS
The first reason is that in recent years the situation in the Jenin area has really deteriorated. About 3 million Palestinians and just under 0.5 million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank

If the settlements are actually supported by the Israeli state, then the Palestinian cities, not to mention the camps inhabited by refugees (which include up to a third of the Arab population of the West Bank), are supported by a much less effective Palestinian authorities.

During the pandemic, socio-economic problems worsened even more, which resulted in regular attacks on Jewish settlers or even on the settlements themselves in the West Bank, especially in the Jenin region (where approximately 20% of all attacks occur).

For socio-economic reasons?? The writer is drunk on Marx!

And these attacks are supported by a number of Palestinian groups in the region.

“Besides Fatah Abbas, there are other, more radical and active groups. The same Hamas, the Islamic Jihad organization (recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia) , etc. They do not accept the conciliatory approach of Mahmoud Abbas towards Israel. Therefore, Israel decided to strike in order to neutralize them, ” explains Professor of the Diplomatic Academy, Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Vavilov to IA Regnum .

The second reason is the internal problems of the country. “In Israel, the situation is not easy - there are too many contradictions and disagreements. For decades, protests have been going on in the country against Netanyahu's desire to carry out legal reform, ” Vavilov notes.

He means months. As I recall, it is now Week 26.

The purpose of the reform is to give the parliament (Knesset) the right to circumvent the decisions of the constitutional court, as well as generally undermine the independence of the judiciary.

“Netanyahu tried to neutralize the protest - he postponed the reform, made concessions, but he could not overcome the resistance from the opposition. Well, in order to divert the attention of the population from these contradictions, it was decided to carry out the operation, ” continues Vavilov.

The method, in general, is not new. The left-wing forces in Israel support peaceful solutions to problems, but even they cannot ignore a series of attacks on Israelis and their settlements in the Jenin area. Therefore, now the left-wing media, commenting on the operation, are trying to follow a very thin line: on the one hand, not to support hostilities, and on the other, not to particularly criticize the authorities for protecting Israeli citizens.

The third reason is the specifics of the new Israeli government. “ The military believes that a strong PNA plays a key role in maintaining the security of Israel and controlling the activities of the Palestinians. But since the far-right government came to power, there has been a marked shift in Israel's policy towards the West Bank.

Netanyahu's far-right government - according to Alexander Vavilov, one of the most right-wing in the country's history

One of? In other words, Israel has survived worse without long term problems...

- was formed in December 2022, and since then a number of its members have advocated the toughest approach to the Palestinian Authority. For the rejection of meaningless negotiations and the transition to power politics.

“We must start a military operation. Destroy Palestinian homes, destroy terrorists, not one or two, but dozens, hundreds and, if necessary, thousands. This is the only way we can take control of this territory, strengthen our positions and ensure the safety of local residents, ” said Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir at the end of June .

As Vavilov points out, "they need to show strength and even show that they do not listen to the words of American patrons who oppose the operation."

Finally, the fourth reason is external factors. Moreover, we are talking about both the conflict in Ukraine (which diverts a significant share of the attention of European governments, which traditionally criticize Israel for military actions), and the Iranian-Saudi normalization of relations achieved with the support of the Chinese .

CHINA RESTORED RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA. UKRAINE IS NEXT
If Tehran and Riyadh manage to resolve regional differences,

...how gullible are you feeling, dear pundit?

then the pro-Iranian and pro-Saudi forces competing with each other in Palestine can join forces in the fight against Israel.

An interesting concept. What are the odds?

Thus, dealing a serious blow to the long-standing Israeli "divide and survive." Therefore, Tel Aviv is trying to play ahead of the curve.

But just how effective will this game be? According to experts, it will not be very good if ~~Tel Aviv~~ Jerusalem conducts it according to the principle by which it conducts operations in the Gaza Strip. That is, "attacked, eliminated the terrorists, left." After the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the Palestinians will quickly restore capacity.

“Most importantly, if you predict its course, then in fact it will give little. There are quite a few factors that reinforce the radical wing in the Palestinian resistance movement. Both Iran and internal forces, ” says Alexander Vavilov. “ In addition, the operation will give the radicals important propaganda trump cards . ” The situation can only be saved by the dismantling of the Palestinian autonomy and a return to the full occupation of the West Bank, but Israel, with all the ultra-right nature of power, is not ready to take such a step. Too much internal and external resistance, as well as responsibility.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Swiss, Russian experts rule out Arafat killed by radioactive polonium

2013-10-25

Swiss and Russian experts who participated in exhuming and applying tests on the remains of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ruled out in their report that radioactive polonium caused his death in 2004, local sources said Thursday.

However, the report, which the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) received, did not discount the possibility that Arafat was intoxicated with a different poisonous material, the sources told Xinhua.

General Tawfiq Al-Tirrawi, the head of the Palestinian committee investigating Arafat's death, declined to comment on the information obtained by Xinhua, but said a press conference will be held soon to reveal the results of the report.

In November, the Swiss, Russian and French experts took samples from Arafat's remains for more tests after an investigative media report found out that Arafat's personal belonging bore traces of the polonium-210.

The report was carried out by the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television network and the team of the documentary movie used a Swiss lab to examine Arafat's clothes, toothbrush and bedcovers after getting them from his widow.

Arafat died at a French military hospital in 2004 from an undisclosed or unknown condition.

At the time, Palestinian officials hinted that Israel was behind the death of Arafat after it prevented him from leaving his Ramallah headquarters for two years.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinians mull response to Israeli reluctance in peace process

2010-10-18

(KUNA) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will consider several political options to respond to Israeli attempts to impede the peace process in the Mideast, said Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Abd-Rabbo here Sunday.

Abd-Rabbo told Palestine Radio that Israel was insisting on using the current peace process as a camouflage to continue the expansion of settlements over Palestinian lands, an act considered hazardous to the whole of international and US efforts to resume peace talks.

Continuing to build settlements and insisting on imposing steps on Palestinians would only prove to hinder hopes for peace in the region, said Abd-Rabbo, stressing that the Palestinian authority would clinch on to its demands to stop settlement expansions as well as issues concerning the final issues concerning the peace process namely providing Palestinians with an independent state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as their capital.

The Israeli Housing Ministry had over new tenders to build hundreds of new housing units in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the first announcement of such kind since the expiring of the 10-month settlement moratorium.

Palestinians are considering a once-side announcement of a Palestinian state in light of the Israeli decision to continue to build settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

PNA denies arresting Hamas operatives behind West Bank attacks

2010-09-09

(Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA)

Have we upgraded from the PA (Palestinian Authority), which itself was an upgrade of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), and upgrade from Fatah (I don't remember what that stood for, sorry)? I really must do better at keeping up with such things.

on Monday denied reports saying the Hamas militants have been arrested in connection with recent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, the Palestinian forces spokesman said.

"I don't confirm these news and we don't have any information indicting that those persons were detained," Adanan Damiri said.

They aren't detained, they've been invited over for tea. Lots and lots of tea, with lashings of, well, lashings. But it was an invitation, not a detention. So there!

On Tuesday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the Palestinian forces arrested two Hamas operatives who fired at an Israeli car near Ramallah city and wounded a couple on Sept. 1.

And on Aug. 31, four Jewish settlers were killed when their car came under fire near Hebron city. The Hamas, the PNA's rival which holds sway in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the two shootings.

Damiri said the Palestinian forces seized the vehicle that the Hamas gunmen used in Hebron attack and "there are some suspects who are being chased down."

Hamas carried out the attacks, the deadliest in West Bank in four years, on the eve of the launch of the direct peace negotiations between Israel and the PNA in Washington.

Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Hamas warned the PNA against continuing cracking down on its members and operatives in the occupied West Bank. "Our patience is running out," Ezz El-Deen al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Damiri rejected Hamas' threats, saying they "don't terrify the PNA." He accused Hamas of restraining from attacking Israel from the Gaza Strip while "carrying out works to sabotage the efforts of the PNA" in the West Bank.

A neat variation on the "Let's you and him fight," theme.

Link

Fifth Column

Today's Pseudo Science - Jews Make Paleo Men Beat Their Wives

2010-01-26

Their study is titled: Association between exposure to political violence and intimate-partner violence in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study.' And yes, they have found that Palestinian husbands are more violent towards Palestinian wives as a function of the Israeli occupation'and that the violence increases significantly when the husbands are directly' as opposed to indirectly' exposed to political violence.

I believe that Arab and Muslim men, including Palestinian men, are indeed violent towards Arab and Muslim women. I also believe that war-related stress, including poverty, usually increases intimate partner violence,' aka male domestic violence. But beyond that, how does one evaluate this study?

First, let's follow the money. This study was funded by the Palestinian National Authority as well as by the Core Funding Group at the University of Minnesota. The Palestinian Authority is not a disinterested party. But even worse: The data was collected by the Palestinian Central Bureau. These are the people who told the world that Israeli soldiers shot young Mohammed al-Dura, committed a massacre in Jenin, and purposely attacked Palestinian civilians (who just happened to be jihadists dressed in civilian clothing or hostage-civilians behind whom the jihadists hid).

Second, let's note that the study has a political goal which trumps any objective academic or feminist goal. (These researchers claim to have a feminist' perspective). In my view, this study wishes to present Palestinian men as victims, even when those men are battering their wives. And, it wishes to present Palestinian cultural barbarism, which includes severe child abuse, as also related to the alleged Israeli occupation.
Today's bad science minute is brought to us by: the Department of Medicine at Harvard University; the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at Minnesota University's School of Public Health; the Boston University School of Medicine; the School of Nursing at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; and at the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More