American delusion. Should America ever run into problems Israels response will be "You're on yur own buddy, thx for being so fukking stupid and we can't believe our luck on how fukking stupid".
An interesting shift in position... now the UAE is demanding that the PA be involved in the administration of post-war Gaza. I guess the UAE government understands that the PA will hunt down every last member of Hamas and execute them -- in revenge of 2005 to 2008. This will eliminate Iran-backed Hamas from attacking the pan-Arab Sunni peacekeeping forces. UAE says no to post-Gaza peacekeeping force without PA control A pan-Arab force could maintain peace in Gaza when Israel ends its devastating assault on the enclave, but the UAE wants assurances before it commits troops. https://www.newarab.com/news/uae-says-no-post-gaza-peacekeeping-force-without-pa-control
Hebrew media highlight report of major cyberattack on Iranian banking system; no confirmation ATMS Across the land down... https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry
Just a reminder that Sinwar and Hamas do not want peace -- they want to continue the war in Gaza. The same can be said the Netanyahu administration but at least Israel is attending the ceasefire talks. Hamas will skip Gaza truce talks but may meet mediators afterwards https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...8/14/hamas-gaza-cease-fire-talks/74804922007/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Rear Adm. David Saar Salama at the Ashdod Naval Base on October 29, 2023. (Photo: Office of Benjamin Netanyahu) Netanyahu Isn’t Interested in Peace, So Why Does Biden Keep Pretending Otherwise? Instead of turning a blind eye to Israel’s behaviors that are deliberately designed to provoke more war, the U.S. needs to stop playing games and get serious about holding Israel accountable. James Zogby Aug 06, 2024 Common Dreams Why? In the midst of critical negotiations to implement U.S. President Joe Biden’s plan to bring about a cease-fire in Gaza, release Israelis held captive by Hamas and a significant number of Palestinians held by Israel, and move toward a negotiated permanent end to the conflict—would Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu decide to assassinate the chief Hamas negotiator while he was visiting Iran? And why—while the U.S. says it was working to deescalate tensions with Lebanon’s Hezbollah—would Israel choose to up the ante by assassinating Hezbollah’s number two? We know the answers to both questions: Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t interested in peace. He doesn’t want a negotiated deal to release hostages and end the war on Gaza. He doesn’t want to deescalate the conflict there or in the north with Hezbollah. And he most certainly doesn’t want a “two-state solution” that would grant the Palestinian people independence in a sovereign state of their own. There are two things Netanyahu does want, and, at this point, both are perversely connected. Above all, he desperately wants to remain in office, because should he lose his post as prime minister, the prosecution of the corruption charges against him will continue in full force. As the charges are so serious and the evidence so clear, he will likely be convicted and humiliated. This is not speculation—it’s widely discussed in Israel and was even hinted at by President Biden in a May 28 interview with Time Magazine. When he was asked “Is Netanyahu prolonging the war for political reasons?” Biden responded, “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.” Why hasn’t the administration condemned the assassinations in Beirut and Iran when they know that they will surely sabotage the efforts of negotiators? The second reason is that Netanyahu wants the war to continue and even be accelerated. He made this clear in his remarks before U.S. Congress and in an address to the Israeli public a few days ago. He seeks “total victory,” which he defines as more than the military defeat of Israel’s enemies. Without acknowledging any Israeli culpability, he charged that the Palestinians had created a hate-filled culture which in the post-war period would require massive deradicalization—the outcome of which would have Palestinians accepting Jewish hegemony in Eretz Israel and understanding their place as a conquered and subordinate people. This is the messianic Zionist vision that has long driven Netanyahu and which he now sees as possible, but only if all of Israel’s enemies—meaning Iran and its surrogates—are brought to heel. And this can only be realized if Israel can involve the U.S. in their regional conquest. Netanyahu’s worldview raises several additional questions that must be considered. If we know that Netanyahu has never accepted the terms of the Biden plan, why has the president continued to maintain that it was “Israel’s plan” and placed the burden on Hamas to accept it? And if we know that Netanyahu is unwilling to make any peace agreement for fear of losing his other extremist coalition partners (who have threatened to abandon his government should he accept any terms leading to peace), why do we continue to dance around that fact? Why hasn’t the administration condemned the assassinations in Beirut and Iran when they know that they will surely sabotage the efforts of negotiators? Why, when we know that Netanyahu has no intention of completing a deal to release those held captive, do we continue to allow him to exploit the pain of their families, pretending that negotiations are close to completion, when we know they aren’t? And why, when we know that the demands and actions of Netanyahu’s extremist coalition partners are wreaking havoc in the West Bank and Jerusalem—terrorizing the Palestinian population, annexing more land, building more settlements, and erasing the possibility of Palestinian self-determination—have we been so passive and tolerant in response? Let’s be clear: Hamas and Hezbollah are not good actors. The former was born of the brutal and sustained Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. It was nurtured by Israel to create division in the Palestinian ranks and fueled by Israel’s ruthless decades-long strangulation of the population of Gaza. The latter was born of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and by that country’s corrupt sectarian system that denied the Shia community adequate representation and resources. It was fueled by Israel’s decades-long occupation of Lebanon’s south and massive devastation of the country’s infrastructure in 2006. To be sure, both have engaged in condemnable actions. But to criticize only them, while absolving Israel of its far greater crimes, is hypocritical at best. If the U.S. were serious about ending conflict in the region, instead of turning a blind eye to Israel’s behaviors that are deliberately designed to provoke more war, we need to stop playing games and get serious about holding Israel accountable. This leads to one final question: Why, when we continue to massively supply Israel with weapons and block all efforts to sanction their deplorable behaviors, do we expect that anything will change?
US: Attacks by 'violent settlers' are 'unacceptable and must stop' August 16, 2024 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...lent-settlers-are-unacceptable-and-must-stop/ Images have emerged of Israeli occupation troops detaining a young Palestinian man and throwing his body on the bonnet of their military jeep, using him as a human shield as they raided the occupied West Bank village of Ezbat Al-Jarad in Tulkarm city on 24 July 2024 [Social media/X] The White House said yesterday that attacks carried out by “violent settlers” on Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank “are unacceptable and must stop” after one person was killed during a mob attack on a small Palestinian village. “Attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop,” a National Security Council spokesperson told Anadolu on condition of anonymity. “Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm. This includes intervening to stop such violence and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account,” the spokesperson added. According to eyewitnesses, illegal Israeli settlers stormed the town of Jit, situated along the main road between Nablus and Qalqilya, yesterday evening, opening fire on residents. The witnesses also said that Israeli occupation forces provided protection to the settlers and prevented Palestinian civil defence vehicles from entering the town. Citing an Israeli security source, Israel’s Army Radio reported that more than 100 settlers stormed the town. The source said the settlers set fire to four homes and six vehicles owned by Palestinians while hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at residents and their property. “The incident ended without any arrests, while several Palestinians suffered from inhalation of tear gas” fired by Israeli soldiers, it added. Over the past few years, the Israeli occupation army has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated since the beginning of its war on Gaza in October last year......
America says: "We've said this before and we expect the same response, nothing will change, we don't expect change, we'll just keep supplying Israel unequivocal support in the name of jesus". "Keep up the good work Bibi"
Hamas Says Netanyahu Wants an Even Bigger War, Not a Ceasefire Published Aug 16, 2024 By Tom O'Connor Senior Writer, Foreign Policy & Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy A senior Hamas official has told Newsweek that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deliberately blocking a ceasefire deal that would put an end to the 10-month war in the Gaza Strip and was instead seeking to expand the conflict across the region. The accusation came after a fresh round of negotiations began Thursday in the Qatari capital of Doha with Hamas noticeably absent from talks. As mediators from Qatar and Egypt deliberated on behalf of the Islamist Palestinian movement alongside delegations from Israel and the United States, few predicted the kind of breakthrough that U.S. officials have hoped may assuage Iran's desire to exact revenge on Israel over the unclaimed killing of Hamas' political chief in Tehran late last month. With regional tensions at a boiling point and both warring parties trading blame for the lack of progress, Basem Naim, a spokesperson and former health minister of Hamas, questioned the intentions of the Israeli side, particularly those of its longest-serving premier who returned to power in late 2022 by forming a coalition with the far-right. "We believe that Netanyahu, from the beginning, does not want to reach a cessation of aggression on the Gaza Strip or conclude a ceasefire agreement," Naim told Newsweek. "Rather, he wants the war to continue for reasons of his own, on a personal level, for partisan reasons, and also for ideological reasons." Naim, who offered some elusive insight into the sticking points of the seemingly paralyzed talks, went on to identify what he felt was a familiar pattern through which Hamas offered "flexible" and "positive" responses to amendments, only to be followed by new Israeli attacks, most recently an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Tabeen school in Gaza City last Saturday, according to Palestinian officials. "All of this clearly indicates that the Zionist enemy, especially Netanyahu and his government, do not want to reach a ceasefire agreement," Naim said, "but rather are interested in continuing to launch attacks against many countries in the region to serve the agenda in Israel." Smoke billows following Israeli bombardment in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on August 11, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. EYAD BABA/AFP/Getty Images Israeli officials have denied altering the framework of the agreement. Reached for comment, a representative of Netanyahu's office referred Newsweek to a statement denying that a July 27 letter from the Israeli premier had "added new conditions" to the U.S.-backed proposal presented two months earlier. Rather, the statement said that "Hamas is the one that demanded 29 changes to the May 27 proposal, something the Prime Minister refused to do." The three major points of contention identified by Netanyahu's office involved the passage of Palestinians through the Netzarim Corridor established by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dividing north and south Gaza, the number of living hostages released by Hamas and Israel's control over which Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange. According to Naim, however, Hamas had already agreed to the May 27 proposal, which he said closely followed the three-phase road map unveiled by Biden days later and the approved draft resolution of the United Nations Security Council in June. The White House had promoted the plan as being in complete alignment with Israeli demands but has since called on both sides to bridge new gaps that have emerged. "Of course, we agreed to the proposal on July 2 that came to us from the mediators, which is the essence of the draft Security Council resolution and also the essence of the Biden project, which is based on the Israeli paper," Naim said. "But then [Netanyahu] went and added new conditions related to his unwillingness to leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing and imposing security checks on residents returning to their homes in the Netzarim corridor," he added, "in addition, of course, to changing the conditions related to the prisoner exchange, although they were agreed upon and bridged by mediators." The IDF launched operations against Rafah on May 6, defying U.S. protests as hopes were raised for a possible breakthrough in talks being held that weekend. Israeli officials argued at the time that Hamas had failed to satisfy their conditions for an agreement and that the operation was necessary to weaken the group's grasp over the southern city that borders Egypt along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor. Thus, began what Naim saw as a series of near-deals that would be followed through an intensification of Israeli military action. "On May 6, we agreed to what the mediators offered," Naim said, "On May 7, the occupation entered Rafah and occupied the Rafah crossing one day after the. We agreed on July 2 to what the mediators had brought, and we were waiting for the Israeli response to this approval, and the response came to us with the assassination of the movement's leader in Tehran." "Hours after the issuance of the tripartite statement calling for renewed negotiations to reach a ceasefire," Naim added, "the Zionist enemy committed a new massacre at the Tabeen School in the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza." Displaced Palestinians gather in the yard of the Tabeen school hit by an Israeli strike in Gaza City on August 10, killing around 100 people, according to Palestinian health officials. Israeli officials say at least...OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty Images The IDF said at the time that there was "a high probability" that a senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement's Central Camps Brigade, Ashraf Juda, was present at the school at the time of the targeting. The IDF later released the identifies of 31 purported combatants killed in the attack, though Juda's name was not included. The Tabeen strike sparked expressions of concern by the U.S. State Department and White House, which called on Israel to take measures to mitigate civilian casualties. The attack also drew sharp condemnation from U.N. officials, who have also urged Israeli forces to avoid conducting operations against protected sites such as schools, shelters and hospitals. Israeli officials have long denied targeting civilians and have accused Hamas of purposely deploying fighters and military infrastructure in such locations, an accusation also rejected by the Palestinian group. The current war, which marks the longest and deadliest conflict in Gaza, began last October with a large-scale surprise attack led by Hamas in which Israeli officials estimate around 1,200 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage, around half of whom are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. The death toll provided by Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-led territory has topped 40,000. Netanyahu has declared his commitment to continuing the Israeli campaign until all wartime objectives were achieved, including the total defeat of Hamas, the neutralization of any threat posed to Israel within Gaza and the return of all remaining hostages. Israeli Foreign Ministry special envoy Fleur Hassan-Nahoum argued that these conditions have remained since the beginning of the conflict and the ensuing ceasefire talks despite growing criticisms, some of which have emerged within Israel itself and its top ally, the U.S. "I think there's a narrative being put out by the Israeli media and also by American media that somehow Netanyahu is the block to the ceasefire," Hassan-Nahoum told Newsweek. "I think it works very well for the Netanyahu detractors in our own country. there's an element, unfortunately, of politicization that's happened with the hostage families, and I don't judge them." "If it was my kid in there, I'd be doing whatever it takes as they are," she added, and pressurizing the government to do more." Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and allied Palestinian factions in Gaza since the October 7 attacks lift flags and placards as they demand the government do more to secure their release...GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP/Getty Images Hassan-Nahoum also assigned blame to Hamas, however, which she asserted had rejected five previous attempts at striking a deal. "Five ceasefire proposals have been rejected by Hamas. That's just the facts," Hassan-Nahoum said. "And also, when anything is going anywhere, it seems that they add conditions." "I'm not here to defend Bibi," she added, referring to Netanyahu's nickname, "but the conditions that Israel has, it's had all along. We're not going to allow armed terrorist to go back to the north of Gaza. We have to block the Philadelphi route...and Hamas has to go." Last week, an IDF official told Newsweek that "we have dismantled most of the military framework in Gaza." Such progress has opened up further rifts within Israel, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly telling lawmakers earlier this week that the slogan of "total victory" was "gibberish" and Netanyahu then accusing his defense chief of espousing an "anti-Israel narrative." Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House National Security Council Communications Adviser John Kirby declined to weigh in on the internal Israeli spat but assessed "that the Israeli Defense Forces have brought down significant blows on Hamas and their military ability" and have "decimated their leadership ranks at all levels." He reiterated the U.S. appeal for both Israeli and Hamas officials to agree to a ceasefire deal, to which he acknowledged amendments have been made since the initial proposal. Now, he said "the central framework" had been agreed to by both parties and the U.S. was "doing everything we can" to secure a final deal. At the same time, Kirby noted, this "doesn't mean we're going to stop talking to the Israelis about what more they need to do to limit civilian communities, to better deconflict with aid organizations and to be more precise and discriminate as they continue to go after the military targets that they're going after." Newsweek has reached out to the White House for further comment. As for the five proposals referenced by Hassan-Nahoum, Naim argued that these were offers "that Hamas agreed to, and Israel rejected or imposed new conditions on them." He also suggested that Netanyahu's participation in the negotiations were a tactic to stave off domestic and external pressure. "In order to avoid pressure from the American administration and pressure from within Israel, whether from the opposition or from the families of the prisoners," Naim said, "Netanyahu is trying to appear or give the impression that he is still involved in the negotiation process." "But every time he sends a negotiating delegation, they are not authorized to reach an agreement," he added, "or every time the delegation returns to find new conditions that Netanyahu has set on previous agreements that Hamas has agreed to in coordination with the mediators and with the knowledge of the Israeli side." A still from a video published August 15 by Hamas' military, the Al-Qassam Brigades, purports to show the targeting of Israeli positions with a rocket launcher in Rafah. Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media Meanwhile, battles still rage in Gaza, with both the IDF and Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, along with other Palestinian factions, claiming daily operations. Against this backdrop, Iran continues to vow revenge over Haniyeh's killing in Tehran and the group's ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, has also called for retaliation for Israel's slaying of the group's top military official, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut less than day before the Hamas chief's assassination. The heightened tensions have helped to fuel the latest U.S. push for a Gaza ceasefire in the hope that such a deal would mitigate the response promised from Iran, Hezbollah and their fellow Axis of Resistance allies. In a statement shared with Newsweek last week, the Iranian Mission to the U.N. said it would back a ceasefire recognized by Hamas but also maintained its right to strike back at Israel over Haniyeh's killing. "Our priority is to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza; any agreement accepted by Hamas will also be recognized by us," the Iranian Mission said at the time. "The Israeli regime has violated our national security and sovereignty through its recent act of terrorism." "We have the legitimate right to self-defense—a matter totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire," the Iranian Mission added. "However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire." Naim argued that, while he saw some "intersection" between the two issues, he expected Iran and Hezbollah to pursue their own objectives. This was especially the case for the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran, which he called "an attack on the sovereignty of the state in the Islamic Republic of Iran and an attack on Iranian national security, and it certainly whets the appetite of the Israeli occupation for more transgressions and aggression." "Therefore, we believe that there may be attempts by the Americans to cool the Iranian response or the Lebanese response," Naim said, "but we believe at the same time that the Iranian response is coming regardless of whether or not there is an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza, because there is a special part of the Islamic Republic of Iran and also Hezbollah in Lebanon in their desire to respond to this aggression." Yet he also argued that Netanyahu, in waging war in Gaza, was pursuing a broader goal of bringing the U.S. into a direct conflict with Iran. "He is trying to achieve through this opportunity that came to him the ambitious goal that he has been seeking for 20 years, dragging the United States of America to fight with him in a battle of aggression against Iran," Naim said. "For him, this is an opportunity to escalate the situation in the region, not only in Gaza, but in the entire region, so that the United States of America will fight with him in this battle that he knows he cannot fight alone." Naim also asserted that the upcoming U.S. election may influence Netanyahu's calculus. The Israeli leader, Naim argued, would be "continuing the escalation of the situation in the region and also continuing the aggression on the Gaza Strip until the next American elections, considering that a new president may come to the White House who will be more supportive of him in this policy or in this aggression against our Palestinian people."
Just like the previous dozen times they were so close, eh? Biden says admin is 'closer than we've ever been' to cease-fire deal in Middle East Biden emphasized that nothing is official yet and he doesn't want to 'jinx' it https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bi...han-weve-ever-been-ceasefire-deal-middle-east