Netanyahu: They Will Never Take Control Again
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern message to Hamas on Sunday amid ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages.
“While Israel showed this willingness [to compromise], Hamas remained entrenched in its extreme positions, chief among them the demand to withdraw all our forces from the Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas intact,” Netanyahu said following the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“The State of Israel cannot accept this. We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding communities, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country,” he continued.
On Sunday Israel’s War Cabinet approved the launch of a military operation in Rafah, which began with the evacuation of Gazans from the eastern part of the city near the border with Israel earlier on today. Two incidents preceded the decision – Hamas’ insistence on ending the war and the deadly rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing in which four soldiers were killed.
There should never be recognition or reward for terrorism. Hamas will never lay down its arms nor ease up its extreme demands in the negotiations. It’s mandatory that the Israel Defense Forces enter Rafah and finish the job. The last stronghold of this terrorist scourge must be dismantled.
Sources:
Netanyahu to Hamas: We will not stop the fight, by Troy Osher Fritzhand/JNS, May 5, 2024
Beyadenu: On Independence Day, Demonstrate Sovereignty on the Temple Mount!
This year the Jewish and secular calendars almost meet on Israel’s Day of Independence. The late and brave David Ben Gurion declared the new State of Israel on Friday, Iyar 5, 5708, which was also May 14, 1948. This year, Iyar 5 falls on May 13, which is Israel’s Memorial Day leading up to Independence Day.
And on Independence Day, Tuesday, May 14, our friends at Beyadenu tell us that some 500 ascendants will arrive on the Mount with Israeli flags.
A giant sign was raised last Wednesday above the northbound lanes of Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, covering an area of 2,153 sq. ft. with the inscription “On Independence Day, we raise the flag on the Temple Mount.”
Beyadenu CEO Tom Nisani stated: “For anyone who had doubts until now, the conflict is not based solely on historical injustices due to the ‘occupation’ or the British government’s policy 80 years ago. It is not a coincidence that many soldiers who arrived in homes in Gaza found the image of the Dome of the Rock engraved on the walls. It is certainly not a coincidence that the terrorist organization Hamas chose to call for a massacre during the celebration of Simchat Torah in the name of the Temple Mount. This is a religious and national conflict, and so far, the State of Israel has refused to address it by demonstrating its sovereignty on the Temple Mount.”
Source:
500 Jews to Wave Israeli Flags on the Temple Mount on Independence Day, by David Israel/Jewish Press
The Truth Becomes Clearer
The Sovereignty Movement joins those supporting the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, who distanced himself from the notion of two states that he, too, finds to be increasingly unlikely.
This comes against the backdrop of an interview that Trump granted TIME Magazine, in which he stated that he has come around to the now widespread belief in Israel that a Palestinian state existing side by side in peace is increasingly unlikely. “There was a time when I thought two-state could work,” he says. “Now I think two-state is going to be very, very tough.”
“After the October 7th massacre, it is eminently clear, even to the most sober analysts in the United States, that these dangerous ideas pose an existential threat to Israel’s future. It is time to promote, in practice, the alternative of sovereignty as Israel’s only realistic political plan,” said Sovereignty heads Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar.
This Mission Will Be Finished
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Wednesday to “finish the mission” in the southern Gaza border city of Rafah, where at least four Hamas terror battalions and its leadership are preparing to defend their iron-fisted control over the enclave.
Speaking in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem with representatives of hostages’ families and bereaved families from the Heroism Forum and the Hope (Tikva) Forum, Netanyahu pledged to continue the war until all of its goals are achieved.
“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal — in order to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu told the gathering.
Israel must reach the goals of this war and win the fight against terrorism along with freeing the hostages, whether alive or not. Israel should not bow to any international pressure nor conceed to any demands by Hamas.
Source:
Netanyahu Vows to ‘Finish the Mission’ in Rafah, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, April 30, 2024
Moves Made by the PA Necessitate Sovereignty
The Sovereignty Movement supports Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who calls on the Prime Minister to respond assertively to steps being taken by the PA, to sever all ties, including economic, with its leaders, to cause its collapse and apply Israeli sovereignty over the entire area of Judea and Samaria.
This step is called for not as punishment to a terrorist regime, which persecutes Israel and works toward its destruction, but as a historic necessity and an expression of justice, morality, and the dream of generations of the Jewish People, full Israeli sovereignty over the entire area of the Land of Israel.
The movement appeals to the Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and calls on him to join the Finance Minister’s declaration in the spirit of what he wrote in his book, “A Place among the Nations.”
“The governments of Israel have sufficed with presenting security considerations in explaining what Israel must add to strengthen the area of Judea and Samaria. The Arabs, in contrast, do not hesitate at all to assert their right over the land and often resort to false historical claims, which only few among the foreign media deign to dispute.“
Why are Approved Expansion Plans Being Delayed?
Defense Minister Yoav Galant is stopping extensive plans in Judea and Samaria, which are only waiting for his approval after being approved by the highest echelons in the government.
There has long been pressure to promote these plans, including declaring thousands of square meters in the Jordan Valley as state land and the restitution of Jewish buildings that were confiscated in 1929 in Hebron. Gallant has so far not advanced the plans.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating he will not agree “to stop actions that are within my authority to promote settlement in Judea and Samaria, some of which are being delayed by the Defense Minister, from non-substantive considerations that harm the settlement.”
Despite this being a time of war, we trust the implementation of the already approved plans to build and expand Jewish communities will move forward without further delay.
Finish the Job: IDF Prepares for Rafah
The Israel Defense Forces are preparing to evacuate Gaza civilians to safer areas in the southern part of the enclave in advance of a looming invasion of the city of Rafah, which straddles Gaza’s border with Egypt.
At least four battalions of Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization remain unscathed and active in the city, and it is believed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his No. 2, Mohammed Deif, are both holed up there along with many of the Israeli hostages who remain their captives.
Approximately two-thirds of Gaza civilians are also sheltering in the city, having moved south at the encouragement of the IDF which provided safe zones for their transit from the combat areas in the north.
During his Passover message to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to the approaching invasion, saying, “In the coming days, we will increase the military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas because it’s the only way to release our hostages and achieve our victory.”
Finish the job.
May Golan: DISGUST – UN Partners with Nazis
Following the October 7th massacre on southern Israel, the government of Israel submitted a severe report to the UN, that included testimonies and evidence that Hamas committed sexual crimes on women and girls.
Despite the gruesome details documented in the report to the UN, UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has decided not to include Hamas in the UN’s blacklist of organizations suspected of committing acts of sexual violence during conflict.
The Minister for Social Equality and the Advancement of the Status of Women, May Golan, said that “The UN and Secretary General António Guterres always manage to break a new record of hypocrisy, antisemitism and the continuous cover-up of sexual crimes! Countless testimonies of difficult and shocking cases of rape and massacre of Israeli women that were committed on October 7th, were not enough for the Secretary General to include the Hamas Nazis in the blacklist of those suspected of committing sexual violence during a conflict.”
UN Avoids the Problem
An independent UN review of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for “Palestinian refugees”, released its report on Monday.
The panel, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, found “neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
Israeli Affairs Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein stated “The problem with UNRWA-Gaza isn’t that of a few bad apples; it is a rotten and poisonous tree whose roots are Hamas. The Colonna report ignores the severity of the problem and offers cosmetic solutions that do not deal with the enormous scope of Hamas’ infiltration of UNRWA. This is not what a genuine and thorough review looks like. This is what an effort to avoid the problem and not address it head on looks like,”
The finding of this report should be of no surprise to anyone. The UN has yet to show itself to be fair and unbiased agency that lives up to its stated mission. The UN’s double standard and demonization of Israel continue in any way they can implement it.
Israel Delivered a Message. Did Iran Get It?
Israel early last Friday morning attacked Iran with a retaliatory strike, as explosions were reported near a military base in Isfahan.
The Tasnim news agency reported that nuclear sites in the province of Isfahan are “absolutely safe,” denying foreign media reports about an incident at a nuclear site in Isfahan. ABC News reported, citing a US official, that Israel delivered a missile strike on a “facility in Iran.”
The Israeli attack fell on the 85th birthday (according to the secular calendar) of Iran’s supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei. L’havdil, the attack also fell on the 122nd birthday (according to the Hebrew calendar) of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, z”l, who would have been delighted with the news of the attack, but probably wonder why so little and so late.
The attacking side in Iran managed to achieve higher damage than the one caused in the Iranian attack, with one tenth of the armaments. Now Iran realizes that if indeed Israel carried out the attack, it can attack nuclear facilities next time with relative ease. In addition, the move paves the way for military action in Rafah.
The Israeli attack on Iran could have been more destructive than what was delivered. Israel’s intention was to signal to Iran that Israel has full ability to – and will – defend itself and can paralyze Iran’s defenses. Did Iran get the message? We wait to see. Israel must remain vigilant in the coming weeks, especially with the Passover holiday upon us.