this is how fucked up the message has gotten... Hamas commits a terrorist attack on Israel... Israel basically vows to wipe out Gaza and all Palestinians hoping it includes Hamas.. If you criticize Israel's military operations killing thousands of civilians, you suddenly support Hamas and the terrorist attack. It is a nice convenient way to protect Israel from any critique of its treatment of ordinary Palestinians and bombing refugee camps and civilian blocks. I know the U.S. is not perfect but after 9/11 we didnt bomb all of Afghanistan and say all Afghanis must die..just the Taliban. Israel might win the battle (against unarmed civilians and peasant soldiers) but they will lose out in the long run in public opinion. Notice how there arent any anti HAMAS demonstrations, only anti-Israel demonstrations in support of Palestinians. No one says one word about Hamas being in Gaza and thriving there...not one word Israel's right to take down Hamas...Have not seen many media stories defending Israel's right to wipe out Hamas and critiquing their methods anymore, it is just outright condemnation on Israel as though they should have done nothing at all. The grey area was wiped out and now you either support Israel 1000% or you support terrorists. You condemn Hamas and suddenly you hate Palestinians.
In a first, Israel shoots down a ballistic missile in space By Harriet Barber November 6, 2023 https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle...llistic-missile-in-space-20231106-p5ehs1.html Israel this week used its Arrow missile-defence system to shoot down a ballistic missile outside of Earth’s atmosphere, in what is believed to be the first combat ever to take place in space. The ballistic missile was launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis, and flew almost 1000 miles (1600km) over the Arabian peninsula on the way to its target, the Israeli port city of Eilat. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and then-US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman watch a video of the launch of the Arrow 3 hypersonic anti-ballistic missile in 2019.Credit: AP While the Israel Defence Forces has released few details about the interception, the Air Force is known to operate several batteries of the Arrow 2 system, which uses a hypersonic interceptor to take out incoming missiles in space. The Israeli defence ministry released a video showing the moment of interception, with the faint cylindrical shape of the incoming ballistic missile barely visible in the false-colour image, before an explosion smears across the screen. In a statement, the IDF said that air force systems tracked the missile’s trajectory and intercepted it “at the most appropriate operational time and location”. Photographs from Eilat showed a trail of smoke from the Arrow interceptor, while residents reported hearing a large explosion from the ground. Yemen’s Houthis also released footage purporting to show the missile being launched as part of a barrage of drones and other long-ranged weapons aimed at Israeli towns and cities. The ballistic missile, which was fired on Monday, is said to have been a Qader missile – an improved version of the Iranian-designed Shahab 3. At more than 15-metres long, the Qader carries a high-explosive warhead and has a range that puts all of Israel in striking distance of the Houthis, which have now declared war on Israel and are a key part of the Iran-backed alliance set against the country. It is precisely the threat that Israel’s Arrow system, first deployed some 25 years ago, was designed to counter. A joint US-Israeli project, Arrow sprang from the need to give Israel a way to defend itself after Israeli cities were hit by Iraqi Scud missiles during the first Gulf War. Where other missile-defence systems were originally meant to shoot down aircraft and had to be adapted to the job of shooting down longer-range ballistic missiles at much higher altitudes and speeds, Arrow was the first to be designed specifically for that task. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the factory that makes the Arrow-3 interceptor in 2019.Credit: AP The system had previously been used in 2017 to shoot down a Syrian S-200 surface-to-air missile which missed an Israeli warplane and was heading towards an Israeli town. But Monday’s interception was the first time that it was used for its original purpose. “The successful interception is about much more than protecting the residents of Eilat and dealing a blow to the Houthis’ boastfulness,” an Israeli defence official said. “Primarily, it proves to Iran, which was behind the launch and supplied the missile, that Israel has the ability to act against its missile program, and this has much broader implications for the regional conflict.” Since the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, the Houthis have launched drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at Israel on four occasions. The Houthis have vowed there would be more such attacks “to help the Palestinians to victory”. Telegraph, London
U.S. Officials Fear American Guns Ordered by Israel Could Fuel West Bank Violence Israel wants 24,000 assault rifles. Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right minister overseeing the police, has given rifles to civilians and is forming “security squads.” “Guns in the right hands save lives!” said Israel’s minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, center.Credit...Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Edward Wong and Patrick Kingsley Edward Wong reported from Washington, and Patrick Kingsley from Jerusalem. Nov. 5, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/politics/israel-us-weapons-west-bank.html An Israeli government request for 24,000 assault rifles from the United States is drawing scrutiny from American lawmakers and some State Department officials who fear the weapons might end up in the hands of settlers and civilian militias trying to force Palestinians from land in the West Bank, where violence has been surging, U.S. officials say. The three proposed tranches of semiautomatic and automatic rifles are valued at $34 million and are being ordered directly from American gunmakers, but they require State Department approval and congressional notification. Israel says the rifles would be used by the national police force, but has also indicated that they could be given to civilians, people familiar with the weapons orders told The New York Times. The State Department gave informal notification of the sale last week to congressional committees, which ignited concerns and prompted requests for the department to ask Israel tougher questions about how it intends to use the arms. Within the department, officials working on human rights issues have expressed reservations, while those overseeing weapons sales intend to approve the orders and announce them in the coming days, U.S. officials say. The Israeli police are seeking to bolster their weapons arsenal after officials pledged to supply thousands of weapons to Israeli civilians in at least 1,000 towns and cities, including Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. About 500,000 Israelis have moved to settlements there over many years, which, along with military checkpoints, fences and other measures of the Israeli government occupation, keep the area’s 2.7 million Palestinians living in separate small enclaves. Although much of the global criticism of Israel’s recent actions has centered on its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which health ministry officials there say have killed nearly 10,000 people, President Biden and his top aides are increasingly worried about rising violence in the West Bank. Even before the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks set off the current war in Gaza, violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank who aim to force Palestinians from strategic tracts of land had risen well above the level of recent years. U.S. officials attributed that to the encouragement of settlers by the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and statements by some Israeli officials supporting the annexation of the West Bank. Since Oct. 7, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank — nearly equal to the number in all of 2022, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most of the killings have taken place during encounters with the Israeli military, but some have been at the hands of gun-bearing civilians. Mr. Biden said on Oct. 25 that violence by “extremist settlers” was “pouring gasoline on fire.” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken raised concerns with Israeli leaders during his trip to Tel Aviv on Friday and spoke about the problem with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, in a meeting in Ramallah on Sunday. Reactions to the Conflict in the U.S. American Chefs: The war is spilling over into the food world, with food professionals starting petitions and dishes like hummus becoming weaponized like never before. A Polarizing Debate: As tensions mount on U.S. college campuses, Republican politicians and activists have waded into the emotional debate that is playing out among students and faculty members. A Family’s Pain: From his Los Angeles home, Mohammed Abujayyab has sought to help his grandmother and other relatives survive Israeli airstrikes. Memories and fears of displacement loom large. The two discussed “efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible,” the State Department said in a statement. Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken have stressed in recent days that a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel is the best long-term solution to the decades-old conflict. Settler intimidation of Palestinians, leading to their displacement from strategic areas of the West Bank, makes any prospect of that much more difficult. State Department officials who oversee weapons sales have discussed potential concerns with Israeli counterparts. “We received assurances from the Israelis that these will only go to I.N.P.-controlled units,” Jessica Lewis, the assistant secretary in the political-military affairs bureau, said in a statement to The Times, referring to the Israeli National Police. A customer speaking to a staff member at a gun shop at a shooting range in Gush Etzion, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.Credit...Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Officials gave no details on what “I.N.P.-controlled units” means, though one said such units do not operate in the West Bank. And they said the agency does not provide specific comments on licensed commercial arms sales. However, Israel’s minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who oversees the police, promised last month to provide guns to settlements. U.S. officials looking at the orders say this request from Israel differed from previous ones in that Israeli officials made explicit reference to the idea that the rifles might be given to civilian groups. Israel placed at least one other large order of rifles this fall. Given the violence by settler extremists, that also prompted concerns from some Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland. The senator is among the lawmakers pressing the Biden administration for assurances on the current orders. The United States regularly sells a wide range of weapons to Israel, including the powerful munitions the Israeli military is now using to pummel Gaza. Mr. Biden has asked Congress for an additional $14 billion of military aid for Israel, even as criticism of his position is rising among Democrats. Israel is buying more than three-quarters of the pending rifles from Colt’s Manufacturing. The orders include M4s and MK18s, and some are ready to be shipped out while others still need to be made. Asked about the intentions for the rifles, the Israeli Embassy in Washington said, “These questions and others came up and were duly addressed in the process of obtaining the U.S. government’s approval for the licensing and procurement of the firearms.” Israeli officials and settlers say the mass distribution of weapons to civilians is necessary to prevent a repeat of the Hamas-led attacks last month on southern Israeli towns, when unarmed civilians were forced to defend themselves for hours before security forces arrived. The national security ministry, which oversees the police and is run by Mr. Ben-Gvir, says the newly armed civilians will be organized into what it describes as “security squads” in each city that are trained by the police and placed under the control of the local police force. “Guns in the right hands save lives! We saw that in the first days of the war,” said Mr. Ben-Gvir, who has criminal convictions for anti-Arab incitement and support for a terrorist group. “Every place there were guns, the scope of the catastrophe was smaller,” he added in a social media post. In parallel, the government has made it easier for citizens to obtain gun licenses, a move that Mr. Ben-Gvir has said will allow 400,000 more civilians, or roughly 4 percent of the population, to get a gun. A firearm license applicant at a shooting range in Kfar Saba, Israel.Credit...Ronen Zvulun/Reuters In late October, Mr. Ben-Gvir posted photographs showing him handing out assault rifles to civilians at a political event. The images alarmed officials in the Biden administration and in Congress. Critics say the new measures will create civilian militias that could target members of Israel’s Palestinian minority, who form roughly a fifth of Israel’s nine million citizens, as well as the Palestinians living in the West Bank. “It’s a very dangerous step,” said Rula Daood, a co-director of Standing Together, a grass-roots movement that promotes equality between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. “They are using this war to give civilians what they call protection from danger,” Ms. Daood said. “But when they say danger, they mean the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. The people receiving these guns are extreme right-wing people who believe there should be first-class and second-class citizens.” Those fears have heightened because the process has been overseen by Mr. Ben-Gvir, who was barred from serving in the Israeli military as a teenager in the 1990s because of concerns in the security services about his extremist views. Until 2020, Mr. Ben-Gvir displayed a large photograph in his living room of a Jewish mass murderer who killed 29 Palestinians in a West Bank mosque in 1994. Mr. Ben-Gvir’s ministry and Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to queries about how many weapons would be provided to Israeli settlers in the West Bank. In a statement on Oct. 10, Mr. Ben-Gvir’s political party, Jewish Power, said the minister would distribute 10,000 rifles to civilians, some of them in West Bank settlements. In a subsequent statement on Wednesday, Mr. Ben-Gvir’s ministry named 57 towns and cities that it said would be among 1,000 places to receive the guns; none of the 57 were in the West Bank. In a separate initiative, a settler council in the northern West Bank said on Oct. 24 that it was independently issuing more than 300 guns to civilian settlers. Just as settler-led violence against Palestinians is at a two-decade high, according to U.N. records, so are deadly Arab attacks against Israelis in the West Bank. Naomi Kahn, a spokeswoman for Regavim, an advocacy group that lobbies for settler interests, said that “the data regarding Arab violence against Jews — in Judea and Samaria and throughout sovereign Israel — explains why emergency security squads are necessary.” Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting from Washington, and Jonathan Rosen from Rehovot, Israel. Edward Wong is a diplomatic correspondent who has reported for The Times for more than 24 years from New York, Baghdad, Beijing and Washington. He was on a team of Pulitzer Prize finalists for Iraq War coverage. More about Edward Wong Patrick Kingsley is the Jerusalem bureau chief, covering Israel and the occupied territories. He has reported from more than 40 countries, written two books and previously covered migration and the Middle East for The Guardian. More about Patrick Kingsley
Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson arrive in Israel By James Massola Updated November 5, 2023 Former prime minister Scott Morrison has landed in Israel in the first visit to the Jewish state by an Australian politician since Hamas crossed the border from Gaza and slaughtered more than 1400 Israeli citizens on October 7. Morrison was a strong supporter of Israel in office, including recognising West Jerusalem in 2018 as the country’s capital, a position since reversed by the Albanese government. Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson meet the chairman of World Likud, Danny Denon, after arriving in Israel on Sunday. .................. Danny Denon invites retards Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson to Israel. Israel being a magnet for retards that it is.
"But we'll continue to supply them regardless, it's what we do best". Even blind freddy and his blind dog in fog can see where this is heading. "Keep stoking the fire lads".
Don’t be ‘suckered’ by Hamas’ ceasefire call, says Morrison in Israel By Matthew Knott (Australia) https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...fire-call-scott-morrison-20231106-p5ehxx.html Former prime minister Scott Morrison has rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza while touring one of the places in Israel hit hardest by the October 7 massacre, saying the international community should not be fooled by Hamas’ attempt to use a pause in hostilities to prepare for further attacks. As we reported earlier, Morrison and former British prime minister Boris Johnson visited the Kfar Azza kibbutz in southern Israel today, where around 57 people were believed to have been killed and 17 taken hostage after Hamas terrorists streamed across the Gaza border. “I don’t support a ceasefire,” Morrison told Channel Nine while visiting the site, which is less than three kilometres from the Gaza border. “A ceasefire would simply advantage Hamas to be able to strengthen their positions and make this war go on for even longer ... this is the play from Hamas, and we’ve got to be careful not to be suckered into it.” Read the full story by foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott here.
"Yeah I'm in favour of sending the Palestinians off to hell while I attend church and sing to God on Sundays, in the meantime guns, guns, we need more f***n guns".
"This must be a hard week for leftists to realize their views of Jews are more in line with Candace Owens than Bernie Sanders." Sanders says he doesn’t know that a ceasefire is possible ‘with an organization like Hamas’ https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/politics/sanders/index.html