A sad story below, so frequent over the last 53 days.  How do we stand up to it?   I can?t think of anything worse than burying a child.  Israel is & Israelis are amazingly strong!  We are always fighting for our lives & the life of our country.  We need to do so with smarts as well as courage.  Who decides what?s smart?  Let?s hope & pray the elected leaders of our country know the full details we can only guess at ? so they can make the wise decisions.  Our jobs require that we challenge them mightily to do so.

Now we?re entering the phase of:  ?Defend yourself, Israel, for defending your people!?  Jews were so put-down for so many centuries since the last time we had Sovereignty in our Land, this Land, that it?s still a challenge to Defend ourselves. With our astoundingly creative weapons? technology we do very well.  Our inventions are sought all over the world because they?ve been proven in battle. 

However, we are still struggling with Defending Ourselves in this ?War of Words?.  We must do much better if we are to keep our heads above water.  I?ll keep trying to pick inspirational, informational articles to push those of you who don?t usually speak out in this forum formerly called ?Hasbara?, now called Public Diplomacy. 

How to do it?  Only 2 key tricks:  GET MAD!  GET INFORMED!  If you get mad enough, you will seek out the information.  Many organizations are working to provide it to you.  The Internet is chock-full of such words of wisdom & Challenge.

My grand-daughter & I are hosting 2 of her friends for Shabbat.

Have a peaceful, happy, delicious Shabbat, All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Mom

Rocket attack victim dies, raising Israeli death toll to 71

By Israel Hayom Staff     Netanel Maman, a 22-year-old IDF soldier, had come home for the weekend after fighting in Gaza ? He was in a car with his brother when it was hit by shrapnel from a rocket attack ? After a week of fighting for his life, he succumbs to his injuries.   died Friday of injuries sustained in a rocket attack last week credit: Facebook

Netanel Maman, 22, Maman died three days after Israel & Hamas agreed on a cease-fire in Gaza ? raising the Israeli death toll to 71.

Operation Protective Edge has taken the life of another Israeli victim who has been fighting for his life since his car was hit by shrapnel in a rocket attack near Ashdod a week ago, died on Friday,

Maman, an IDF soldier, had been fighting in Gaza during the recent campaign, & last Thursday came home for the weekend. He & his younger brother, Tamir, who serves in the Israeli Air Force, decided to make a quick run to a gas station near their home in Gan Yavne to buy cigarettes. Their father, a member of the Gan Yavne municipal council, tried to dissuade them from going, but they insisted.

The siren warning of an incoming rocket sounded as the two were stopped at a traffic light, their brother-in-law recounted. Tamir managed to flee the car & take cover, but Netanel did not make it out of the car. The Grad-type rocket exploded nearby, sending shrapnel flying in their direction. Netanel sustained shrapnel wounds mainly to the neck & head & was critically injured. His brother sustained light injuries.

The two were hospitalized, but Tamir was released later the same day.

Five Israeli civilians were also wounded in the same strike.

An eyewitness recounted the events: ?I was standing at the intersection when I suddenly heard the siren. I got out & tried to find cover, & shortly afterward there was an insane boom. I was in shock for several seconds, & when I got up I heard people screaming that someone had been hurt. The ambulance arrived & everyone ran toward the car, trying to help the victim open the door. The medics evacuated him quickly.      Luckily I wasn?t hurt, but a young man standing not 30 feet from me was hit by shrapnel.?

Sharon Ben David, Tamir & Netanel?s brother-in-law, said that ?after dinner, they went to buy cigarettes & they were caught by the siren. The rocket exploded to the right of the car, & Netanel didn?t have time to get out. The shrapnel hit him in the head, which was exposed. The rest of his body wasn?t hit, thanks to the car seat.   We hope that Tamir recovers mentally. He experienced a serious trauma. It is not easy when a rocket explodes next to your car & you see your brother hurt like that.?

During the week after the injury, the Maman family never stopped holding out hope that Netanel would recover.  ?His parents were very optimistic, & they hoped that he would get better,? Ben David said. ?There have been soldiers who were very badly hurt & made full recoveries. We were told that the night he was hurt there was an article about a soldier who was hurt & recovered & even got married, so we wanted the same to happen for us.?

??????????

 Their sons did not die in vain by Ruthie Blum                            

Tuesday?s ambiguous, open-ended cease-fire agreement between Israel & Hamas felt like a huge let-down. Up until the very last minute (and even after it took effect), air raid sirens were wailing endlessly, & the sound of rockets exploding or being intercepted by the Iron Dome continued to permeate the air.

To make matters worse, a mere hour prior to the announcement of the cease-fire, two people from Kibbutz Nirim were killed in a mortar attack. This happened just a few days after a four-year-old boy from Kibbutz Nahal Oz suffered a similar fate.

In addition, since the many cease-fires to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed throughout the 50 days of Operation Protective Edge all ended abruptly with a Hamas breach, Israelis were hard pressed to believe that this one would be any different. & there was a general sense of malaise about aborting the operation before rendering Hamas totally powerless.

So, while Hamas leaders emerged from their bunkers to declare victory ? with a few thousand Gaza residents dancing in the streets, shooting in the air & chanting songs about killing Jews ? Israelis sat at home (or remained in temporary lodgings away from the Gaza border), deflated, disillusioned & angry.

On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu gave a joint press conference with Defense Minister Moshe Ya?alon & IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz to assure the public that the government had given in to none of Hamas? demands ? & to reassure us that no subsequent ?drizzle of rockets? would be tolerated.    Netanyahu stated unequivocally that the IDF would hit Gaza even harder if Hamas pulled any stunts.

Residents of the south were furious, fearing that the war had not made them any safer than they had been before. They continue to worry not only about a resumption of rocket-fire, but about the possibility that not all the terror tunnels leading into their area were destroyed ? something that would put them at risk of slaughter while they sleep or abduction in broad daylight.

Debates about whether the current situation constitutes a victory or a defeat for Israel began to rage, as did arguments over the long-term goals of the government where the Palestinians are concerned. The unity that characterized society at the beginning of the war in July seemed a thing of the distant past, with    Netanyahu?s popularity at 38 percent, down from 85 percent six weeks ago.

All of this discord was to be expected, as is the next round of fighting that is certain to become necessary at some point in the near future. Indeed, though Israel won this battle, it is one of many more that the Jewish state will have to fight & win in order to survive. It is also one tiny front in a global war between the West & radical Islamist forces that are out to destroy civilization as we have come to know it.

Anyone who imagined otherwise was kidding himself. Even World War I did not turn out to be the ?war to end all wars.?

Among those who harbored hopes for a total eradication of Hamas this summer were the families who lost loved ones, whether civilians in Israel or soldiers sent in to confront the terrorists in Gaza. They are understandably devastated. A number of them responded to the cease-fire by expressing bitterness that their ?sons had died in vain.?

It is for them that I would like to articulate my own position on the outcome of Operation Protective Edge.

It is true that this war did not eliminate terrorism from Gaza. But it did set the organization back, through the killing of some heavy Hamas honchos & the demolishing of much of their infrastructure.

It is true that Israel received bad press, a cold shoulder from the Obama administration & U.N. outrage for targeting hospitals & UNRWA schools coupling as terror bases. But it did forge new regional alliances with Egypt & Saudi Arabia. These will be useful in curbing Hamas? ability to re-arm, & necessary in facing the many other bloodthirsty Islamists who are torturing, maiming, raping & decapitating all ?infidels? in their path.

Furthermore, taking more drastic measures at this moment would have led to scenarios that Israel can ill afford, particularly with the greater, more existential Iranian nuclear threat looming larger than ever.

While extending my deepest sympathy, condolences & gratitude to all the newly bereaved parents, I beg to differ with their attitude. I want to hug each & every one of them & insist that they not add to their already bottomless grief by believing that their boys in uniform died in vain. Their sons died as heroes, carrying out a mission that, however incomplete, is enabling the rest of us to go about our daily business in relative security ? the only kind of peace & quiet we Israelis ever have.

Ruthie Blum is the author of ?To Hell in a Handbasket: Carter, Obama, & the ?Arab Spring.??

Tower  The Tower Magazine  August 2014

Why Everything Reported from Gaza is Crazy Twisted

By Mark Lavie  Veteran reporter for AP, NPR, NBC, & CBC, & author of Broken Spring: An American-Israeli Reporter?s Close-Up View of How Egyptians Lost Their Struggle for Freedom

The images coming out of the Gaza Strip are heart-wrenching. They are also part of a deliberate & sophisticated distortion machine. A veteran journalist takes us inside.

You?re seeing civilians dying & suffering in Gaza. You?re seeing the destruction Israel?s military operation against Hamas has caused.

You?re hearing from Israel that Hamas is firing rockets from crowded neighborhoods, using helpless Gaza civilians as human shields, forcing them to stay in their neighborhoods in defiance of Israeli warnings to leave.

Why aren?t you hearing that from Gaza? Often, it?s because reporters are afraid to tell you.

True, in some cases, it?s anti-Israel bias. In others, it?s bad journalism?covering the story you can easily see above ground, like destruction, misery, death & funerals, instead of digging for the real story: Why this is happening & how the powerful are operating behind the scenes or underground?again, literally. It?s the scourge of 21st century ?journalism,? with its instant deadlines, the demands to tweet & blog constantly, the need to get something out there that?s more spectacular than the competition, & check the facts later, if at all.

Add to that the cruel cutbacks by news organizations around the world. It all means that fewer & fewer reporters have to file more & more stories, & file partial reports while they?re working. It?s impossible. I allow myself the quotation marks around ?journalism? because I?ve been a journalist for half a century (I started young), covering the region since 1972, & I fear my profession is not what it used to be, & not for the better.

So those elements are parts of the reason why you?re not getting the whole story from Gaza. But the most important element is intimidation of reporters on the ground.

It?s nothing new. I?ve experienced it for decades. Autocratic regimes threaten, attack & jail reporters who write anything critical of those in power. Other reporters get the message & just don?t do it.

Bringing this element of the Gaza situation to light entails some real dangers. It?s a saga that can?t be told directly in detail. If it is, & if specific reporters can be identified here, people will be harmed. Not just the reporters, but their families, too. But if this isn?t told, you?ll be harmed. You won?t know why you don?t get the whole story.

Photojournalists take pictures as the IDF operates inside the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead. Photo: Kobi Gideon / Flash90

Let?s proceed like this: I will draw on my four decades as a foreign correspondent in this region, telling you how it works, giving some examples ? but I will not tell you exactly who is involved, & I may take some steps to cover their tracks. So don?t try to figure it out.

This is the main factor, for better or worse, & it?s clearly both: News organizations make the safety of their reporters their top priority. Whatever it takes to keep them out of harm?s way ? that?s what is done. I applaud that & I support that, though everyone understands that the policy can be & is exploited by tyrannical regimes to your detriment.

For example, in 2001, a news agency refused to release video it had of Palestinians celebrating the 9/11 attacks because Palestinian militants threatened the photographer & his family with murder. It was what is called a credible threat. The news agency took considerable heat for its decision to suppress the video but stood by its decision, depriving the world of the visual documentation of an important development.

The drive to protect reporters runs the entire range from serious to silly. Fearing injury to its staffers from rocks thrown by Palestinians & Israeli army gunfire, news organizations imported armored cars to drive around the West Bank & Gaza. They cost a fortune & kept breaking down. Then they allowed reporters & photographers to drive around the West Bank in their own cars ? but they had to wear helmets. Plastic bicycle helmets. That?s the silly part.

Here?s the serious part. A typical news report from Gaza a few days ago described the destruction, interviewed Gaza civilians who related in heartbreaking detail the deaths of their relatives & loss of their belongings, & listed the hardships & travail the people are facing because of the Israeli military operation. Halfway through the long story was a single paragraph that said that Israel claims Hamas fires rockets from civilian areas. This is how journalists protect themselves from charges that they didn?t tell ?the other side.?

But in fact, they didn?t. They didn?t report from Gaza about where the Hamas rocket launchers were, where the ammunition is stored, where the openings of the tunnels are?if they mention the tunnels at all, which in this case, they didn?t.

An Al Jazeera English reporter conducts an interview in Gaza in 2009. Photo: Al Jazeera English

A reporter for a European news outlet told a friend that he saw Hamas gunmen firing rockets from outside his hotel, but he didn?t take pictures, certain that if he had, they would have killed him. He told the tale only after he was safely out of Gaza. Apparently his news outlet did not have a permanent local stringer there, or he would not have been able to speak even from the relative safety of Tel Aviv without endangering his stringer.

News agencies, newspapers & TV networks use their local Palestinian stringers to do most of the work on the ground. In this era of cutbacks in my industry, there aren?t enough reporters, & those they send in are not fluent in Arabic & don?t know their way around.

Besides the budgetary limitations, news organizations often hesitate to send reporters into Gaza at all because of the constant danger, & not from Israeli airstrikes. In 2007, BBC reporter Alan Johnston was kidnapped by Palestinian militants & held for more than three months. Many other foreign journalists were kidnapped there & held for a day or two around that time. There have been no kidnappings recently, but the message was clear?foreigners are fair game. The message was heard & understood. For lack of an alternative, news organizations began to rely more & more on local stringers, giving the regime considerable leverage through intimidation. It?s expected that news organizations will deny all this?it?s part of the dance.

On many occasions, frightened stringers have pleaded to have their bylines taken off stories. Some have been ?evacuated? from Gaza for a time for their own safety, after an article critical of the regime was published or broadcast. Families have been spirited out for a while.

So when the stringer returns home & gets back to work, it?s pretty clear how he?ll behave. Everyone in the home office knows that & accepts it.

The West Bank, run by the relatively moderate Fatah, is no better than Gaza?s Hamas in this regard.  Back in 2000, two Israeli reserve soldiers bumbled their way into Ramallah, where they were lynched & murdered by a mob. The grisly photo of a Palestinian holding up his bloodstained hands proudly from a second-story window after the bodies of the soldiers were thrown out is seared into the memories of Israelis.

Yet an Italian TV network felt the need to apologize in public for the fact that there was video of the horrendous event ? explaining pitifully that a rival network was responsible, & that they would never do anything that could reflect badly on the Palestinian Authority. That was a rare public glimpse into how ?journalism? works in such places.

Sometimes even the best are turned. A Palestinian reporter duly relayed an official Palestinian story from an Israeli army roadblock near Ramallah in the West Bank, where a pregnant woman had died after heartless Israeli soldiers refused to let her go through to the hospital. The reporter went to the hospital, where a doctor confirmed the report. Uneasy, the reporter climbed on foot to the primitive encampment where the woman lived, & there, her husband refuted the whole story. The delay, he said, was getting her to the main road & finding a taxi. Once they got to the roadblock, he said, the soldiers cleared everyone else out of the way & sped them through to the hospital?but it was too late. The reporter then confronted the doctor, who admitted that he lied ?for the cause.?

A decade or so later, this same reporter, like others, refused to touch a story of a Palestinian whistleblower, appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas himself to find evidence of corruption in the PA. He did his job too well, it seems?he was fired, but not before he said he took with him 40 boxes of incriminating documents, possibly answering the question of where those billions of dollars & euros of aid to the Palestinians has gone. The whistleblower approached several reporters, but no story was done until a local Israeli TV channel broadcast a report, & to the best of my knowledge, no serious examination of the documents has been undertaken.

Israelis & journalists stand on a hill overlooking the Gaza Strip observing military activities on the sixth day of Operation Protective Edge, July 13, 2014. Photo: Miriam Alster / Flash90

It could be that over the years, that reporter was won over to the righteousness of the Palestinian cause, refusing to do any stories that reflected badly on his fellow Palestinians. Or it could be that he realized that if he did such stories, he would be cut off from his sources. Or worse.

That is part of what?s going on in Gaza today. For as long as I?ve been dealing with Gaza, local Palestinian reporters have affiliated themselves with the side considered to be the strongest. At first, that was Fatah.

It started changing after the first intifada erupted in 1987, when Hamas emerged as a power. For example, the stringer for two major Western news outlets always managed to get the Hamas statements & leaflets in Gaza before anyone else. The leaflets were a key source of information about the new, radical, violent Islamic group. I eventually figured out why he was always first?Hamas was giving him the leaflets to translate into English, & then he?d pass them on to his clients.

One particular news outlet always got the suicide bomber videos first. Those were the farewell diatribes recorded by Hamas terrorists about to embark on a mission to blow themselves up in Israel. It emerged that the camera crew that worked for the news outlet was the same one filming the statements.

Those are examples of local reporters choosing sides out of both ideology & self-preservation.

Clearly the abuse of reporters & perversion of journalism is not unique to Gaza or the West Bank. This is the situation all over the region save Israel. During my two years in Egypt, I saw some of my colleagues beaten, harassed & arrested. The military-backed Egyptian regime jailed reporters for Al-Jazeera last December, charging them with belonging to or assisting a terrorist organization. Three, including Australian Peter Greste & bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian, have been sentenced to seven to ten years in prison.

Some moves are quieter. A news outlet pulled its photographer out of Saudi Arabia, because the regime would not allow him to take pictures of anything. Local reporters steer very clear of controversial subjects. So one of the most important nations in the Middle East, & arguably the world, is not covered properly, because the regime won?t allow it.

We do get some news out of Iran, but local reporters there are pretty much confined to rewriting official news releases & interviewing government officials. Iran gives press credentials sparingly, if at all, & if a reporter is expelled, as many are, his news agency can?t replace him. So the choice is either milquetoast official news or no news at all.

Both Syria?s government & some rebel groups operating there kidnap & kill journalists in the worst case, & severely restrict their movements in the best case. Much of the ?news? coming out of Syria is in the form of video clips made by one side or the other. Some are so clearly fake that they are almost humorous?almost, because an obviously staged video of ?Syrian soldiers? burying rebels alive is not exactly the stuff of stand-up comedy. Needless to say, local Syrian stringers walk a very careful line, & some just disappear for weeks on end when things get too dicey.

Journalists, of course, won?t tell you what you?re missing in the coverage. Their anchors or editors won?t tell you why large parts of the story are colored a certain way or taken from a certain angle. They don?t want to put their reporters? lives at risk.

Foreign press from around the world take positions on a hill near the southern Israeli town of Sderot as the Israeli army operates inside Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. Photo: Kobi Gideon / Flash90

This is the main reason that video & pictures seem to flow freely out of Gaza. But critical elements of the story itself can?t, & neither can all the pictures & video. It gives the impression that the story is being covered, when only part of it?sometimes a small part?is being covered.

All we can do is keep this in mind: the world does not operate according to our democratic standards of freedom of the press. What we see may not be the whole truth. In fact, you can be sure it isn?t.

And then there?s Israel. It has the freest, most irreverent press in the region, which, granted, isn?t saying much. Israeli newspapers reflect the wide range of political views, & that is wide, indeed. One newspaper clamors for an end to the conflict in Gaza; while next to it on the news stand is a paper insisting that the operation must continue until Hamas is ?utterly destroyed,? using a chilling biblical term.

But Israel, some might point out, has that frightful & undemocratic military censorship. The military decides what can be printed & what cannot. The status quo is so horrible that most news outlets reporting from Israel feel the need to inform their readers or viewers each time a story is submitted to the censor, & whether or not it?s been altered as a result.

Censorship can be excused in a nation that?s at war, but in the age of instant communications, Israeli censorship has run its course. Not that it?s unjustified?it just doesn?t work anymore. It?s too easy to circumvent the censor & publish anything you want on the Internet.

The fact of censorship probably does Israel more harm than good, precisely because it appears as if the government is controlling news. In practical terms, it doesn?t. Censorship applies to military operations in progress, as well as a list of items deemed to be matters of national security. In practice, military operations in progress are live-blogged, live-tweeted & live-broadcast all the time now, & there?s nothing the military can do about it, so why continue the effort?

On the other hand, the opposite argument can be made. It?s not that Israeli censorship actually limits the news coming out of here. The very fact that it?s considered necessary shows how free the news media are.

It?s a sharp contrast to the rest of the region, where there?s no need for censorship. Brutal intimidation & threats against reporters are so much more effective.

Banner Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower

Why Everything Reported from Gaza is Crazy Twisted / Mark Lavie

Press attention has been constant, even obsessive throughout Operation Protective Edge. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower

Photojournalists take pictures as the IDF operates inside the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead. Photo: Kobi Gideon / Flash90

An Al Jazeera English reporter conducts an interview in Gaza in 2009. Photo: Al Jazeera English

Israelis & journalists stand on a hill overlooking the Gaza Strip observing military activities on the sixth day of Operation Protective Edge, July 13, 2014. Photo: Miriam Alster / Flash90

Foreign press from around the world take positions on a hill near the southern Israeli town of Sderot as the Israeli army operates inside Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. Photo: Kobi Gideon / Flash90

Tower  The Tower Magazine

Photo: Izzadin Al-Qassam website

Hamas Vows to Re-Arm for ?Devastating Battle of Liberation? by TheTower.org Staff | 08.27.14 4:03 pm

The Iran-backed terror organization Hamas is already broadcasting strong signals that it has no interest in peace & is gearing up for its next war against Israel.

The Izzadin Al-Qassam Brigades tweeted (Arabic link):  We won, & swore by Allah that we will continue to dig (tunnels), & create more (rockets), & recruit thousands more, & develop thousands of weapons & we recharge the mortars & weapons towards the coming devastating battle of liberation.

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar recently emerged from hiding & pledged that the terrorist group, which initially seized power in a bloody 2007 military coup, would continue ?arming itself & developing its resistance capacity.?

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who is currently being hosted by the Gulf state of Qatar, praised Iran for its support. Meshaal said ties with Iran were strong, despite a rift that developed when Hamas leaders supported the rebellion against the Iranian-supported dictator, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

An Iranian press report said that Meshaal ?stressed that Iran?s financial & military support has played an influential role in the achievements? of Hamas.?  A few weeks ago, top Iranian officials boasted of the military support they had given Hamas to fight against Israel.

However, veteran Arab affairs analyst Ehud Yaari wrote (Hebrew link) that Hamas was still facing an uphill struggle to return to the same military capacity it had two months ago:

Yesterday they did the inevitable & got people into the streets for a victory celebration. But there weren?t thousands, certainly not tens of thousands. During the past day you saw some of the (Hamas) military commanders, not all of them, beginning to emerge from the bunkers after 50 days.

Hamas has no real feeling of achievement. There?s an attempt to manufacture an air of accomplishment, ?we did it, we held our own for 50 days, yes,? but when they measure the results of what we see now ? they?ll see the slim chances that they?ll achieve their (demands of) crossings, sea port, airport, etc in the round of talks that will start in Cairo ? they will say to themselves the it?s the same ceasefire they could have obtained a month ago.

Prof. Beverley Milton-Edwards, a British specialist on Hamas, was quoted saying  that ?Hamas has a record of engaging in spoiler violence in order to have a negative impact on peace implementation.?

&&&&&&

Jihadi Rebels Abduct UN Observers Along Israeli Border

Today?s Top Stories

1. Nabil Sha?ath described to Maan News the PLO?s diplomatic offensive against Israel: On Sept. 15, the Palestinians will ask the UN Security Council to set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.   If that request is denied, the PLO will take their case to the International Criminal Court to hold senior Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Netanyahu & Defense Minister Moshe Ya?alon accountable for Israel?s devastating assault on Gaza, which killed over 2,000 Palestinians . . .

A permanent unity government, with Hamas as a full partner, will then be formed in order to facilitate the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip, Sha?ath added.

2. A day after the Al-Qaida-affiliated Al Nusra Front seized control of the Syrian side of the Israeli border crossing at Quneitra,  YNet cites an Arab media report that the Jihadis abducted members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). At the moment, we?re talking about ?40 soldiers of Philippine origin.?  According to Michael O?Toole, Irish monitors are hunkered down ? & hopefully still safe.

News breaks fast. Get HonestReporting alerts by e-mail & never miss a thing.

3. Hamas leaders bicker over ceasefire.

4. Stories I?d Like to See: Scratching the Surface of UNRWA: Hamas rockets in UNRWA facilities leave a lot of unanswered questions. Are any reporters interested?

Israel & the Palestinians

? Did Netanyahu & Abbas hold a secret  meeting ahead of the Gaza ceasefire?

? Australians for Palestine are in hot water for misrepresenting a photo of dead Syrian children as Palestinians killed by Israel. The Australian (click via Google) reports that this fauxtography occurred in an email to MPs. This is the very kind of?dead baby porn? Brendan O?Neill brilliantly denounced. Adding fuel to the fire, Australians for Palestine editor Sonja Karkar reneged on a promise to apologize.  Underneath the image of dead children, Australians for Palestine editor Sonja Karkar wrote that ?some people may find the above photo disturbing & we hope it is?. 

?It is not being shown gratuitously, but to bring home the true awfulness of what is happening in Gaza,? she wrote.

Marwan Barghouti

? Marwan Barghouti (known as the Palestinian Mandela in some circles), called on Fatah to ditch peace negotiations & reassert its leadership of ?the resistance.?  MEMRI translated his unMandela-like message published on a Palestinian website.

• Ha?aretz: SodaStream officials say they haven?t made a final decision to relocate their factory from the West Bank to the Negev, & that boycotts aren?t a factor in the decision making.

The possible closure of the West Bank plant, located in the industrial zone of Mishor Adumim, outside Jerusalem, is a result of expanded activity in a new plant in the Negev town of Lehavim.

Even if the Mishor Adumim plant remains open, SodaStream could still decide within the next two months to cut down its activity there.

? According to Arab reports picked up by the Times of Israel, an Israeli aerial drone went down in Iraq & ?was quickly recovered by US personnel on the ground.? In recent days, Hamas & Iran claimed to have downed Israeli UAVs.

Commentary/Analysis

? Former AP correspondent Matti Friedman?s stunning expose of how the foreign press in Israel operates brought back memories for Max Blankfeld of covering Israel after Yom Kippur War. Blankfeld reminisces about an ignorant Brazilian reporter who knew nothing about the country resorting to ?cut & paste? journalism to suit his Marxist ideology. Disclosure: Max Blankfeld is a member of HonestReporting?s board of directors.

? Iran?s threats to ?arm the West Bank? must be taken seriously

Iran?s latest statements demonstrate that it wants to remain relevant in the post-Operation Protective Edge era & prove to its proxies that it is still leads & supports their armed struggle against Israel.

? Britain?s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, took to the op-ed pages of the Daily Telegraph to weigh in on rising anti-Semitism.

It is sometimes claimed that the anti-Semitism card is played to stifle debate about the Middle East. I am entirely in favour of debate, but to be credible, it must be open, honest, contextualised & untainted by irrational hatred or misinformation. After all, debate on Israeli government policy is the most popular national sport in the vibrant democracy that is Israel. Why? Israelis love a good argument, but more importantly, many Israeli government decisions are life-and-death choices with existential consequences for the tiny Jewish state.

However, in expressing strong views about Israel some people do not realise the extent to which they draw upon myths, images, fears & expressions that have a long & ugly history. Others knowingly & deliberately draw upon such rhetoric & upon the history of vile persecution. How can anyone attempt to justify disgraceful placards the like of which we have seen in pro-Gaza demonstrations in London proclaiming ?Hitler should have finished the job? or ?Death to the Jews??

? Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman got op-ed space in Foreign Policy to push for disarming Hamas.

Many foreign journalists who came to cover the war in the Gaza Strip were under the false impression that it was all about improving the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by opening border crossings & building an airport & seaport. These journalists really believed that once the demands of Hamas & Islamic Jihad are accepted, this would pave the way for peace between Israel & the Palestinians.

Yet these journalists, like many others in the international community, failed to look at the bigger picture or take into consideration the context of conflict. Moreover, most of them did not even seem to be listening to what Hamas & Islamic Jihad have been stating before & after the war ? that their real goal is to ?liberate all Palestine.?

Operation Protective Edge may have ended, but the dream to destroy Israel is still alive.

? What are Yossi Klein Halevi?s two nightmares about a Palestinian state?

? For more commentary, see Amos Harel (New enemies across the Syrian border), Eyal Zisser (Gazans must demand answers from Hamas), & Mitch Ginsburg (From Beirut to Shejaiya). Fiamma Nirenstein, The Associated Press, BBC, Politico, Daily Telegraph, Sky News, & a Boston Globe staff all assess the ceasefire. Last but not least, Fisk?s being Fisk again.

Rest O? the Roundup

Islamic State celebration in Raqqa, Syria.

? The Wall St. Journal (via Google News) takes an in-depth look at Islamic State?s financial underpinnings.

The Islamic State runs a self-sustaining economy across territory it controls in Syria & Iraq, pirating oil while exacting tribute from a population of at least eight million, Arab & Western officials said, making it one of the world?s richest terror groups & an unprecedented threat . . .

For Western & Arab nations that are striving to stop Islamic State, the group?s local funding sources pose a conundrum: A clampdown on economic activity that helps fund the group, counterterrorism officials & experts said, could cause a humanitarian crisis in the already stressed areas it controls.

Featured image: CC BY-SA HonestReporting, Union Pacific poster via flickr/Keijo Knutas, UN CC BY-SA HonestReporting, flickr/Andrew Magill, Barghouti via YouTube/Journeyman Pictures, Islamic State via YouTube/Vice News

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Green-Lined: Follow the Qatar money-trail  Friday Aug 29, 2014

You knew, of course that a major funder of Hamas in Gaza is Qatar, yes?

It has been reported that  Hamas & its backers such as Qatar have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on tunnels & rockets with one goal in mind: killing Israelis.   

And also that,  in 2010, Qatar twice offered to restore trade relations with Israel & allow the reinstatement of the Israeli mission in Doha, on condition that Israel allow Qatar to send building materials & money to Gaza to help rehabilitate infrastructure, & that Israel make a public statement expressing appreciation for Qatar?s role & acknowledging its standing in the Middle East. Israel refused, on the grounds that Qatari supplies could be used by Hamas to build bunkers & reinforced positions from which to fire rockets at Israeli cities & towns, 

So, what do we make of this:  A $1 billion bet on peace: Qatar funds huge Palestinian settlement in West Bank

And more on the Rawabi investment:  Rawabi is the first master-planned city in the heart of Palestine & truly emphasizes Qatari Dear?s mission of enriching the quality of people lives.    ?Located 9 km north of Ramallah, 20 km north of Jerusalem, 40 Km straight east of Tel Aviv & 25 km south of Nablus, Rawabi is being built as a modern, high-tech city with gleaming high-rise buildings, green parks & shopping areas.??  It is truly a beautiful, modern city ? built at the highest standard. 

            You would think it would be perfect to rehabilitate the families who now live in the slums of the so-called refugee camps.  But, no, we?ve been told that NONE of those ?poor? people will be allowed into Rawabi.

And even more interestingly:  Qatar currently funds several large economic projects in Gaza, such as the establishment of a large hospital. It also funds the building of new infrastructure & the renovation of existing decrepit infrastructure?Qatar also invested tens of millions of dollars to pave Salah al-Din Road connecting the northern Gaza Strip with the south.  Furthermore, Qatari architects, engineers & other professionals, along with some foreign experts representing Qatar, enter Gaza through the Erez Crossing with permits issued by Israel in coordination with Qatar?s Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Economy Ministry.

            Additionally, the Qataris have committed to procuring all required raw material from Israel, not only because they have no other choice, but intentionally, out of the belief that this would soften the Israeli position. The purchases are currently valued at tens of millions of dollars, & in the coming years the total investment could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. In other words, Israeli corporations benefit from the existence of projects funded by the Qataris in the Gaza Strip.

Rawabi will overlook Israel?s central section.  From there, the view ? & trajectory for rockets ? is excellent.

Think about that as you contemplate the future rocket fire that will come.

Has Israel done anything serious about Qatar?

Sure:  Israel has blocked Qatari funds, aimed at covering the cost of the salaries of former Hamas employees, from being transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA)?Qatar pledged to pay $60 million within three months to pay the salaries of the former Hamas-run government in Gaza.

So, why can?t it halt the funding of Rawabi which is just as much a threat?  As it surely will be.

(thanks to SDym)

[BTW, Sidebar  from Gail Winston:  Rawabi has no supply of fresh water!   Whoa!  How did that happen?   Who benefits from the scandal that Israel may not supply an Arab city with water?   We are in an ongoing war for public opinion to keep the interests of the Jewish State afloat.   2 years ago an article in the Jerusalem Post stated that a fifth water reservoir was being built for Jerusalem between Har Adar & Mevasseret Zion, necessitating the destruction of 800 trees.  A week later in Hamodia that story was that the water reservoir is for Ramallah & surrounding villages, necessitating the destruction of 2000 trees?!  Haven?t heard a thing since. 

I am certain that will be the water for Rawabi.  Why demolish a JNF forest to build a reservoir ? 

The hills around Jerusalem are well-decorated with JNF forests.  They are Jerusalem?s ?Green Lung?.   If necessary, why not dig such a reservoir in a rocky barren hill or valley?  Can someone with investigative resources please check the JNF &/or Jerusalem area records to determine if such a project is underway or planned?  If so, Where?  Why?  When?   Having asked a few people if the JNF forest facing Mevasseret is at risk, they were sure not.  Couldn?t be.  Had to be somewhere else.  NIMBY:  Not In My Back Yard!  (full disclosure:  It IS my backyard!  GW]

!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Arlene Kushner  akushner47@aol.com  August 27, 2014

?A Second Look?

I?m sure that ? after today?s assessment ? I will take a third & a fourth & fifth look at the ceasefire declared last night in Gaza.  In many ways this is an evolving situation, more complex than it might have seemed at first blush.

I begin by noting that impressions do matter ? especially where deterrence is concerned.  If Hamas appears to be the victor, that impression reverberates internationally in a way that is detrimental to our concerns.  & in any event the sight of celebrating Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, which we have been shown in news video clips over the past several hours, is extraordinarily galling.

Credit: Reuters

Credit: Reuters

However, there are a couple of points that must be made with regard to this ?victory? celebration.

The first is a reminder that the Arabs always win.  Even when they have been very soundly defeated, they will let you know that they have won.  This approach stems from their honor-shame culture, which simply does not allow for anything that might be considered shameful.

Bassam Tawil, writing now in Gatestone, refers to ?the pathetic way Arabs boast to convince themselves that they won every war the Israelis defeated them in.?

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4653/hamas-victory

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The second is that they may be celebrating the end of the fighting more than a victory: because of Hamas?s ?martyr? policy, the people of Gaza have had a very hard time.  It was Mahmoud Abbas (please note this) who made the announcement in Arabic to the people of Gaza.  I saw a sub-title translation, & if it is correct, he said there was now a permanent ceasefire.  Permanent? Then they?re done with running from Israeli bombs? Or standing still in order to get hit? A good time to celebrate.

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We did not succeed in bringing Hamas to its knees, in order to get them to simply stop firing rockets at us ? which would have been the best outcome.  Perhaps, had we not agreed now to the ceasefire, we might have.  That, I would say, is the major frustration here ? & certainly it constitutes a good part of what deprives us of a solid sense of victory.

But what must be clarified is that we certainly did a huge amount of damage to them.  On the face of things, this is obvious, but it needs to be said.

According to some analysts, even though Hamas did not stop launching rockets ? they defiantly launched them even into the beginning of the ceasefire ? they agreed to that ceasefire because they were beaten down.

Wrote Steve Emerson, citing a report from Israel security officials (emphasis added):

??amid the report?s assessment that Hamas had lost much of its will to fight, the terrorist group agreed to the latest Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.   There is growing discontent among the Hamas ranks, as the group suffered significant terrorist casualties, destruction of vital military infrastructure, rocket construction capabilities, & major destruction of its sophisticated underground tunnel network, the Post report said. Israel?s successful targeted assassination of senior Hamas leaders severely disrupted the terrorist organization?s command & control structure, & even resulted in the desertion of rank & file terrorists from battle.  In light of the assassinations, growing suspicion of Israeli intelligence infiltration also forced Hamas to halt the use sophisticated technologies in the battlefield, significantly reducing its ability to fight. The growing mistrust & panic led Hamas to summarily execute over 20 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.  Mid-range commanders allegedly fled with their families from conflict zones to avoid having their houses destroyed, producing a sense of mistrust & abandonment among remaining fighters. In one case, 14 Hamas fighters were reportedly trapped in a tunnel for 20 days with no supplies while their commanders failed to even attempt a rescue effort. Some are believed to have starved to death.?

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4547/decimated-hamas-accepts-ceasefire-claims-victory

This is a picture of Hamas as the loser with claims of victory that are very hollow.

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And we are being provided with a picture of Hamas that has now agreed to terms it could have had previously.

Writes Ron Ben-Yishai in YNet:  ?In Jerusalem & the Defense Ministry?s Kirya compound in Tel Aviv they are rubbing their hands in satisfaction ? & quite rightly so. After a short-lived war of attrition of just one week, even without a fresh ground incursion, Hamas blinked first & agreed to the outline of the initial ceasefire proposed the Egyptians ? the outline of which it had received before Israel sent its ground troops in weeks ago.   Hamas has not even received the ?minor agreement? it could have secured eight days ago, before it violated the ceasefire the last time. Israel, however, has not ceded on anything, rather simply agreed to the ceasefire approved by the Cabinet back in mid-July, a few days after the start of Operation Protective Edge.?

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4564522,00.html

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Does this mean, then, that I have re-thought the situation & now believe the ceasefire was a good thing, & that Israel is the uncontested winner?

No, my friends, it does not.  While I have provided balance in the above, there are still some very serious considerations, some very serious problems.  I am not sure we know yet how much we have won, or have failed to win.  Many of us wanted a clear win, & that it is not.

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Ben-Yishai, cited above, also says this (emphasis added):

?Granted, the organization is badly wounded, has had all of its military capabilities taken away & more than a thousand of its fighters lost their lives?And yet, there is no satisfactory answer that will ensure the safety of the border communities against mortars, short-range rockets & even anti-tank missiles that could be fired on a bus carrying children to school in the Eshkol Regional Council or the Negev.  The indefinite ceasefire that took effect Tuesday evening is a tactical win that, for the moment, does not guarantee long-term, stable calm for the Western Negev communities or the whole of Israel. It was indeed Hamas who sought the ceasefire, even pleaded for it, but the organization is known to be a serial violator of ceasefires, & the need to hurt & shed the blood of the Israelis has often overcome its survival instinct & concern for the Palestinians under its control.?

So, Hamas is down, but not out ? & this does not qualify as a clear win for us.

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This, certainly, is how the residents of the communities near Gaza are feeling.

Itamar Shimoni, Mayor of Ashkelon, believes any compromise with Hamas is a surrender to terror. (Emphasis added)  ?The residents of Israel & the south wanted to see a decision in this campaign, but this will apparently not happen.   We wanted to see Hamas defeated & begging for its life; instead we see Israel running to the negotiating table at every opportunity.?

The head of the Eshkol Council, Haim Yelin, said that he will not ask the residents of his region to return to their homes. He told Channel 10 news, ?In Jerusalem there appears to be a ceasefire. I don?t know what they are talking about. In Jerusalem they feel safe?but not us.?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184469#.U_32lJvlrIV

Quite frankly, this is shameful: the people of the south deserve better.  They were told, by Netanyahu himself & the military leaders, ?be patient, be strong?it will be OK.?  But it is not OK.

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On his Facebook page, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (head of Yisrael Beitenu) has written:  ?It is forbidden to make peace with Hamas, & as long as Hamas exists it?s impossible to make peace. As long as Hamas rules in Gaza, it is impossible to ensure the security of Israeli citizens, & impossible to reach a peace agreement.  ?we opposed a ceasefire under whose cover Hamas will be able to continue & grow, & manage additional campaigns against Israel at a time convenient to it.  As long as the Hamas regime is not overthrown ? the threat of rockets & tunnels remains. We must stand firm on Hamas not receiving any diplomatic achievement thanks to this ceasefire.?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184481#.U_39P5vlrIU

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And Times of Israel editor David Horovitz has written a thoughtful piece that I suggest you read in its entirety. He says (emphasis added):  ?Support for Netanyahu?s handling of the conflict will rise again if time, & the long-term ceasefire terms, prove that Hamas has been marginalized & de-fanged.  Many Israelis, indeed, will come to hail him for not having ordered a far more extensive ground offensive into the treacherous heart of Gaza where Hamas lay in wait, with the consequent likely loss of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of soldiers? lives.  But if Hamas is not marginalized, if it proves capable of rebuilding its tunnels, restocking its rocket arsenals, & plotting new strategies toward its goal of Israel?s annihilation, the Israeli strategy for handling this conflict will have been a failure, & the popularity of the prime minister will be far from the most central of Israel?s concerns.?

http://www.timesofisrael.com/those-hamas-victory-celebrations-should-not-be-easily-dismissed/

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There are those who declare that because we didn?t do the full job, the entire war was ?for nothing.? I vehemently disagree.  If for no other reason than that we took out the tunnels which led into Israel & which were going to be used by Hamas to massacre large numbers of Israelis, it was for something.  In addition to which, we have weakened Hamas considerably. Anyone who calls this ?for nothing,? in my opinion desecrates the memories of those soldiers who gave their lives ? so that innocent people in the south would not be massacred, & so that Hamas would be weakened.

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It is, however, also a given that Netanyahu was not as strong as he should have been in this war.  I have written innumerable times that he makes decisions while watching over his shoulder, & indeed, it was true here as much as it has ever been.  He is forever watching world opinion.  The question is whether this is ever a valid way to proceed ? there are a lot of hazards to Israel out there. But what this means is that sometimes he fails to pay attention to the needs of Israel?s citizens.   A horrendous example of this has come to light, & I shudder even as I share it here ? but share it I will:

According to a Channel 10 report on Monday, five mortar barrels were aimed at Kibbutz Nachal Oz, & mortars were shot at the kibbutz repeatedly.  Residents of the kibbutz ?claim the IDF told them that three of the barrels are embedded adjacent to schools where displaced Gaza residents are taking shelter, & therefore the IDF did not strike them to eliminate the threat.  They add that the IDF said the two other barrels are located adjacent to the houses of residents that the IDF was unable to contact during the course o the 50 day operation so as to ask them to leave & avoid harming them.  As a result, the IDF likewise decided not to strike.?

The fear of course was being accused of ?war crimes.? But this is ludicrous.  If this report is true, a mortar from one of those guns, which could have been silenced by the IDF, is what killed little Daniel Tragerman.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184482#.U_4DfZvlrIU

What remains to be seen now is how strong Netanyahu will be in the follow-up to the war, as he deals with the international community.  Herein lies the key.

In my next posting, I want to take a look at the role of the international community ? Obama, Kerry, the UN, the EU, et al ? & of Mahmoud Abbas.

And I will close today by citing one more commentator who segues into this issue. Avi Issacharoff writes (emphasis added):   ??unless there is a 180 degree turn in Israeli policy relating to Abbas, the ceasefire will change nothing & the next escalation is only a matter of time.?

http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamass-humiliation-and-israels-looming-defeat/

I will return to this critical issue.  We all have a great deal of work to do.

See my website at www.arlenefromisrael.info  Contact Arlene at akushner18@gmail.com

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#2 From: Arlene Kushner  akushner18@aol.com  August 28, 2014

?Not a Pretty Picture?

After I posted yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the nation in order to explain/defend the war with Hamas & the decision to accept the ceasefire now.  He left me decidedly underwhelmed & considerably uneasy.

Yes, it is true, as he says, that Hamas has been hit harder than ever before, that in the end it sought the ceasefire & that nothing was given to Hamas by Israel.  But? but?

He also said, ?We can?t say definitively that the goal of bringing sustained quiet has been reached, but the goal of hitting Hamas hard has been achieved.?

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Netanyahu-Hamas-failed-achieved-nothing-except-sustaining-worst-blow-since-its-founding-372535

He himself refers to sustained quiet as a goal, and, indeed, it is precisely what he?s been consistently promising the people of Israel, even as recently as a week ago:

?restoring quiet for a prolonged period along with a significant blow to the terrorist infrastructure.?

http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Netanyahu-praises-Shin-Bet-IDF-for-cooperation-in-hit-on-Hamas-leaders-371784

And yet he threw in the towel without having achieved that ?quiet for a prolonged period.?

As a matter of fact, even though it is frequently claimed that he never intended to bring Hamas down, he did allude to precisely this just eight days ago?

?We have not given up on our goal to overthrow Hamas & its leadership.?

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Netanyahu-says-Operation-Protective-Edge-is-not-over-371694                                                        & so?

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It has been frequently observed that Netanyahu changes his goals from time to time.  There are those who see this as a maneuver designed to confuse his enemies.  But many believe it simply signals a lack of strategic planning.

Whatever the case, Netanyahu gave up the fight too soon, & the question remains why.

I would like to share what I believe we are seeing. This is not to justify what he has done, but to attempt to understand it.

These are very tough times for Israel ? with virulent anti-Israel riots in many parts of the world, the BDS movement, & more.

To demonstrate how horrendously tough things are, I share a link to a video showing accusations of war crimes committed by Israel made in the British Parliament.  It was sent to me by a very horrified reader in England.  (Margaret, I thank you.)  You don?t even have to see the entire thing to get the picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJWNE83j__k&app=desktop

It should have been a no-brainer, that the only democracy in the Middle East is the good guy when doing battle with a terrorist entity that launches rockets by the thousands at its civilians. The fact that this is not the case indicates what a perverted & convoluted world we live in. I do not make light of this, or what it takes to contend with it.

~~~~~~~~~~

I believe to stand strong at the helm of the Israeli government in the face of the current climate requires a spine of steel.  But, regretfully, Netanyahu ? whose position is not to be envied ? certainly appears to have a backbone made of more pliable stuff.

Mahmoud Abbas of the PA (I refuse to refer to him as ?president,? since his term ran out eons ago, although the world conveniently ignores this) has declined to sever his connection to Hamas or to disavow the unity agreement.  After meeting with Hamas?s Mashaal in Qatar recently, he announced he had a new ?peace plan?:  He was going to go to the UN Security Council & get them to set up a ?timetable? for Israel to withdraw from Judea & Samaria, & eastern Jerusalem, & declare a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines.  If this didn?t work, he was going to join the ICC & charge Israel?s leaders with war crimes.

A lot of this is bombast. The Security Council cannot, under international law, establish a state. & if the PA joins the ICC, its own leaders are liable. But it?s troublesome bombast, nonetheless.

~~~~~~~~~~

The visit to Israel of retired US General John Allen immediately prior to the ceasefire was clearly not without significance. He came to discuss the ?peace process,? which would take place after the ceasefire.

Peace process? With the PA that is wedded to Hamas??

The position of the current US administration, as of prior administrations, is that the matter of a Palestinian state must be resolved via negotiations.  Obama thus would also find Abbas?s threats troublesome, & would seek to promote the resumption of those ?peace negotiations? in order to undercut him.

My guess is that Obama offered to veto all proposals for a Palestinian state that would be brought to the Security Council, if Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire & then to move towards negotiations with Abbas.  Once the ceasefire had been announced, there were statements from the US administration about how they had Israel?s back, etc. etc.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the course of his statements yesterday, Netanyahu said Abbas had ?to choose which side he is on.?  But he hoped Abbas will continue to want a diplomatic process with Israel & an eventual agreement. 

Excuse me?  There was only one proper response for Netanyahu to have made when the suggestion was advanced that we resume negotiations: ?Peace process? With the PA that is wedded to Hamas??  Quite clearly, Abbas has already chosen.  But he?s being promoted as a moderate & at some level our prime minister is ready to go along with this or is on the cusp of doing so.

This is not in Israel?s best interests & I believe Netanyahu is allowing himself to be maneuvered into a very destructive position.

For starters, the PA is being promoted as the party to oversee the crossings into Gaza & the reconstruction.  Not only would Abbas not be inclined to buck Hamas, his people would not have the power to do so.

~~~~~~~~~~

To make matters worse, the story has broken in the Jordanian daily Al?ad, which cites diplomatic sources that say that before the ceasefire Netanyahu & Abbas had met secretly in Amman. The prime minister?s office had no comment ? which means it?s not denying it.

While the Jordanian report did not specifically indicate what the two discussed, it did allude to various roles the PA would likely be playing. Among them, it would do the fundraising for Gaza reconstruction. The PA is notorious for its level of corruption. A joke if ever there was one. But there we are.

~~~~~~~~~~

This scenario will have to be watched carefully.

But there is more that has to be watched, as well:  It is all very fine that Netanyahu says Hamas hasn?t gotten anything from Israel. I would add ?yet.? The negotiations on the serious issues won?t be held for a month & this is where Israel must stand firm.

Netanyahu spoke a great deal about reconstruction in return for demilitarization.  I don?t see any talk about demilitarization in the current first agreement (as I understand it, the details of that agreement aren?t even public), & I don?t know that this is even on the prime minister?s agenda any longer.  This is a serious matter.  Even if new weaponry is prevented from being brought in ? Hamas still has 2,000 rockets & can manufacture additional ones.  What is more, Hamas is skilled at bringing in weapons in parts, which can be more easily smuggled.

He spoke as well about new alliances in this part of the world ? by which he means changing attitudes on the part of ?moderate? Arab states such as Saudi Arabia as well as on the part of the EU. True enough that Hamas is more isolated now & that the world is beginning to wake up with regard to Jihadis because of ISIS.  But how will this play out? Will it amount to any more than an eagerness to promote Abbas over Hamas?

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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced onlywith proper attribution. 

If it is reproduced & emphasis is added, the fact that it has been added must be noted.

See my websiteatwww.arlenefromisrael.info  Contact Arlene at akushner18@gmail.com

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