Just think how many families in Gaza this misappropriated aid money could have helped. Suitcases with over $1 million found in home of senior Hamas member https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778472
opinion The Gaza War Has Convinced Russia It Was Right All Along By Nikita Smagin Updated: 13 hours ago https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023...onvinced-russia-it-was-right-all-along-a83468 IDF soliders preparing for action on the ground in Gaza. The conflict in the Middle East is the perfect crisis for Russia, which is reaping a whole host of political benefits. The confrontation between Israel and Hamas has not only boosted the Kremlin’s hopes of changing the mood around the war in Ukraine, but also strengthened its belief that the Western-centric system of international relations is breaking down. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put an end to most internal Western disagreements when it came to Russia, uniting countries on both sides of the Atlantic. But the Israel-Hamas war has seen divisions resurface at a state level: while the United States insists Israel has a right to self-defense, there have been bitter disagreements between European countries about what position the European Union should take. There are also societal divides, with protests by opponents and supporters of Israel taking place regularly from Washington to Stockholm. Even state agencies are not immune to these differing views, with media reports of widespread discontent among U.S. officials with the White House’s pro-Israel stance. Against this backdrop, the war in Ukraine has slipped down the agenda. The United States has said it will provide help to both Israel and Ukraine. But how long can it really be fully engaged in two major conflicts? Moscow’s hopes that the West will eventually tire of providing open-ended support for Kyiv have never looked so justified. In addition, Washington’s pro-Israel stance undermines the legitimacy of the West’s broader reasons for supporting Ukraine in the eyes of many in the Global South. The moral argument against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now looks like empty words, particularly in Middle East nations. Photos of the ruins in Gaza, reports of thousands of dead children, and the outrage of humanitarian organizations have made a deep impression on people in the developing world. People can argue endlessly about the reasons for the war in Ukraine, or Israel’s operation in Gaza, but for many the conclusion is obvious: the United States was critical of Russia when it killed innocent civilians in Ukraine, and now it is silent when its ally Israel does the same thing in Gaza. A vision of the world in which morals and ideologies are irrelevant—and the only thing that counts are state interests—has long been the dominant one in the Kremlin. And this logic dictates that there is no better outcome for Moscow than the continuation of the Middle East conflict, which is destroying the West’s strategy toward Russia. Moscow does not even have to lift a finger: Israel’s ground operation in Gaza looks unlikely to end anytime soon. When it does, intractable issues will remain. True, the escalation in Gaza is not without risks for Russia, and if pro-Iranian forces get sucked in, it could become a major headache for the Kremlin. Moscow’s ties with Iran mean it has been drifting toward a pro-Tehran position in the Middle East for the last couple of years, but that does not mean it is ready to support Iran in a war with Israel. Such a development would oblige Russia to pick a side, and would have consequences for Russia’s intervention in Syria. For now, however, a broader military conflagration in the Middle East looks unlikely. Iran and its proxies have stayed out of the Gaza conflict so far, which means they are less likely to intervene further down the line. The Israel-Hamas war also poses some domestic dilemmas for the Kremlin. Judging by statements from officials, October’s anti-Semitic pogrom in Dagestan sent shockwaves through the Russian leadership. Nationalism and Russia’s ethnic republics are issues that previously worried the Kremlin. Now, Middle East policy will need to be made with half an eye on public opinion. This article was originally published by The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Former Mossad official: Israel's current efforts to cozy up to Qatar are a mistake Dr. Udi Levi, former head of Mossad task force Harpoon, criticizes Netanyahu's long-time policy regarding Qatar’s financial support of Hamas, saying that ‘Israel provided legitimacy to Qatar with the suitcases of money’ Sophie Shulman 19.12.23 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bknnw11w6 A suitcase with NIS 5 million ($1.3 million) in cash or a deep tunnel big enough for jeeps to travel through - every day new evidence points to the economic strength of Hamas, which after two months of intense ground fighting against the IDF, has not collapsed. Many experts believe that military might alone cannot topple the terrorist organization, but that Hamas must also be strangled financially. While the key to Hamas’ military defeat is in Israel's hands, the key to their economic collapse is in the hands of Qatar. "Israel is stuck in a crazy situation," says Dr. Udi Levi, the former head of Mossad task force Harpoon which was established to fight financial networks and industries supporting terrorist organizations. Now a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, Levi says that only Qatar is capable of economically influencing Hamas but that they will never agree to dismantle the organization. “This is their baby - there is no world in which Qatar will support Hamas’ removal. Israel's current efforts to cozy up to Qatar are a mistake. We have to learn to conduct classic Middle Eastern diplomacy, which we have never excelled at. This means that while one hand can wield a carrot, the other hand must wield a stick - or a gun. What can be a gun? Qatar is very sensitive to its global image, so if they understand that there is a serious threat to establish an investigation into the origins of 9/11, they may feel pressured. Israel needs to find dramatic leverage over the Qataris and force them to cut off Hamas," says Levi, whose PhD focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Levi was one of the main subjects in a recent investigative piece by The New York Times which revealed that Israel was well aware of Hamas’ financial strength but did nothing. Levi’s Mossad task force, which he led since its founding by Ariel Sharon during his premiership, discovered extensive information about Hamas’ economic empire, based not only on Qatari money but also on Iranian funds, a public company in Turkey, investment portfolios managed in various banks, and real estate holdings. In the 1990s in its early years, Hamas relied primarily on non-profit organizations, but over time, its financial tentacles expanded to more sophisticated investments that were increasingly difficult to trace. Initially, assets were concentrated mainly in friendly Arab countries, but over time, they evolved into legitimate entities, making detection and tracking even more complicated. However, almost a decade ago, the Mossad discovered a secret Hamas investment portfolio and estimated the organization's assets to be valued at roughly half a billion dollars. Over the years, Hamas has enjoyed annual dividends of tens of millions of dollars from their investment portfolio, up to $75 million a year according to some estimates. Over the years, Levi interacted with various prime ministers, and while Ehud Olmert was very receptive and even tried to weaken Hamas financially, Benjamin Netanyahu ignored the issue, as reflected in The New York Times investigation. Despite warnings from heads of the security system, including former Mossad director Tamir Pardo and former Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin, who believed that it was necessary to address Hamas’ economic power, and certainly, not to transfer it suitcases full of cash from Qatar, Netanyahu treated the matter dismissively, exactly as it was covered in The New York Times report. "The prime minister has the right to decide what he wants to do, but I don't recall even a serious discussion about the implications of Hamas’ economic growth, despite the numbers presented," says Levi. IDF soldiers in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Levi says that Israel followed Hamas’ financial system intensively for many years. "We invested a lot of effort into building a surveillance system, and we had a lot of information about the organization's funding routes and money transfers. We also conducted many intelligence activities. But in an economic war you need international cooperation, and it took many years to convince the world to formally identify Hamas as a terrorist organization, and not just its military arm. We had extraordinary cooperation from the Americans and we wanted to arrest Hamas financial operatives, but then there were the Qatari suitcases,” Levi says referring to the suitcases full of cash that Israel permitted to be transferred from Qatar to Gaza. “From that point on, both in the United States and around the world, they looked at us differently and said, 'How do you ask us to stop funding Hamas, but you are supplying it with cash yourselves?’ So, from the moment that Israel decided to inject 'legitimate' money into Hamas through Qatar, all our requests to block their economic activities were refused," Levi says with anger. Dr. Shlomit Wagman, the Global Chief Regulation and Compliance Officer for fintech unicorn Rapyd and the former Director-General of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA), agrees with Levy. "The story about Turkish company Trend GYO, which was recently publicized, was known and the Americans could have enforced sanctions on it a long time ago, but they gave up and did nothing. Why? The transfer of the Qatari money to Gaza with Israel's approval." Wagman is referring to a publicly traded company on the Turkish stock exchange for many years that was recently revealed to have been established with foreign funding, including three major shareholders identified with Hamas. "This gave the U.S. legitimacy to block Hamas activities through this company or to take steps against Turkey, who did nothing. But Turkey did nothing because they saw that the U.S. did nothing," she says. While Wagman is not quoted in the New York Times investigation, it is likely that she was consulted as someone who was at the center of events and has a global reputation in the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. When leading IMPA, she also opposed the transfer of funds via suitcases, but this also fell on deaf ears. "Cash has no smell, and there is no way to trace it. Any funding for Gaza in the future will have to go through advanced financial means that can be tracked," she emphasizes. According to Wagman, since the October 7 attack, many financial entities and countries have begun to scrutinize assets related to Hamas or key figures such as Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and other senior Hamas members. "France froze Sinwar’s assets just last week, even though he was declared a terrorist many years ago. Until now, no one bothered looking - it just wasn't a priority. When you look, you find even real estate registered under the names of terrorists before they became well-known. In France, they’ve already found this, and I'm sure that soon things will be found in Germany and Switzerland too," she says. ‘Their goal – an Islamic world’ Levi believes that while Qatar is not the sole source of funding for Hamas, the small country with a population similar in size to Gaza – just over 2 million people – is the key to its rise and fall. However, one of the questions now being raised is how consequential Israel’s permitted transfer of Qatari funds was, if Qatar was funding Hamas via other means. Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar. (Credit: Mohamed Al Hammadi/UAE Presidential Court/Reuters) "Their reputation and legitimacy are very important to the Qataris," explains Levi. "Once Israel permitted them to fund Hamas, no one could condemn them for it. That's its real significance - not the money itself. The Qataris are always looking for legitimacy - you can see this in their efforts to host the World Cup, in generous donations to prestigious universities in the United States, and more,” he says referring to the Qatari financial behemoth that has infiltrated wherever possible, from football clubs to iconic buildings in the United States, to European auto and aviation companies. “Today, everyone talks about the Chinese takeover, but what's truly frightening is the amount of assets that Qatar has accumulated," says Levi, referring to, among other things, the Qatari Investment Authority which is Qatar’s wealth fund, and manages nearly half a trillion dollars and holds stakes in Western symbols such as London Heathrow Airport, Volkswagen, the Paris Saint-Germain football club, New York’s Empire State Building, and countless other properties. For example, in 2015, Qatar made an official statement that it would invest $35 billion in New York over five years. "The world benefits from the unusual amount of money pouring into it, and therefore, remains silent. We live in a capitalist world, but from the Qataris' perspective, the ultimate goal is an Islamic world, and in that, they are more dangerous than the Chinese or anyone else," Levi warns. "In recent years, there have been more than rumors about a covert economic system between Israel and Qatar, and it is not impossible that there are Israeli companies that Qatar has managed to influence. That's their MO: buy power and influence, but at its core, the main goal is the same – the spread of Islam."
Let's see what the idiot Bachmann is saying. Sadly shoving the Palestinians out of Gaza may turn out to be what the Netanyahu government does, seeing that his government does not support a two-state solution and path to peace. Michele Bachmann Calls for Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza: ‘They Need To Be Removed From That Land’ https://www.mediaite.com/tv/michele...-gaza-they-need-to-be-removed-from-that-land/
I hope the IDF holds their soldier(s) responsible for disobeying orders and opening fire. This issue is not only relevant to this particular situation with the three hostages but other similar scenarios in Gaza when soldiers need to obey orders on opening fire. IDF soldiers who killed hostages disobeyed orders to hold fire Former IDF Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror discussed the need to regulate the IDF's open-fire policy, but stressed the difficulties in urban combat in Gaza, where visibility is poor. https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778374
Does Israel have a plan that will allow Palestinians to be housed in a "safe area" while other locations in the south are cleared out of Hamas. Would Palestinians even trust moving to an area built by Israel? How quickly can it be built (it's needed now!)? Who would administer the "humanitarian compound"? Clearly Fatah in the West Bank and other nations don't want anything to do with it. Do you think Palestinians in Gaza want to live in a enclave where IDF troops are marching around daily? Will the Palestinians be driven to it by sheer desperation for food, water and shelter? It is becoming questionable if Israel has a realistic plan for the short term -- much less for the long term on who will administer Gaza. The IDF focus has been on eliminating Hamas, not on the aiding civilians in Gaza. Israel exploring construction of "humanitarian compound" in northern Gaza after fighting subsides https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-12-19-23/index.html Israeli officials are exploring the potential construction of a “humanitarian compound” in northern Gaza to house displaced Palestinian civilians, two Israeli officials and an international humanitarian official familiar with the plans told CNN. The establishment of such a compound would allow some Palestinian civilians to move to northern Gaza once the Israeli military completes its current phase of military operations in that part of the enclave, the sources said. The planning for the compound is in its early stages and it was not yet clear how many people it could accommodate. Israel has informed the United States it is exploring the project and a senior Israeli official said Israel would seek assistance from other countries as well. The international humanitarian official also confirmed discussions about the project and said other countries and private entities could be involved. Israeli military officials have said they believe they are close to defeating Hamas militants in Jabalya and Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood, Hamas’ last remaining strongholds in northern Gaza. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday hinted at the possibility of allowing displaced civilians to return to northern Gaza once Israel achieves its military objectives there. “In every area where we achieve our mission, we will be able to transition gradually to the next phase and start working on bringing back the local population. This can be achieved maybe sooner in the north rather than in the south,” Gallant said during a news conference alongside United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, but many of those displaced from northern Gaza will have no homes to return to — hence the need for the construction of shelters. About 80% of buildings in northern Gaza had been damaged or destroyed by the end of November, according to an analysis by the United Nations Satellite Centre published last week. The Israeli government is exploring the project amid pressure from the United States to ramp down its military campaign in Gaza and establish more safe zones for Palestinian civilians. Israel has also begun to explore the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip with the United States and Gulf countries, the officials said.
Last I heard, the majority of people within Israel are in support of the war. With such a hostile mindset toward Palestinians, I can see the war dragging on, never mind what platitudes the politicians spout out for the cameras and newspapers.