Israel has decided to cut off all ties with UNRWA – Gaza headquarters pictured here – over their terror ties, a government spokesman said Monday.

“UNRWA are part of the problem, and we will now stop working with them,” said David Mencer of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, which operates out of the Prime Minister’s Office. “We are actively phasing out the use of UNRWA because they perpetuate the conflict rather than try and alleviate the conflict,” Mencer said at a press briefing.

Jerusalem revealed in January that an investigation into the agency had found that a dozen of its staff members had taken part in Hamas’ October 7 invasion of Israel, when 1,200 people were massacred and 253 abducted into the Gaza Strip.

Israelis have been protesting in front of UNRWA’s Jerusalem office for weeks, demanding that the agency be thrown out of the country for aiding and abetting Hamas. Now their voices have been heard!

Source:
Israel cuts ties with UNRWA, by Batya Jerenberg/World Israel News, March 26, 2024

Message from the Prime Minister’s Office:

The US withdrew from its consistent position in the Security Council where it only a few days ago linked a ceasefire with the release of the abductees (Article 1).

China and Russia vetoed the previous resolution partly because they supported a ceasefire without the release of the abductees.

Russia and China supported the current decision, along with Algeria and other countries.

The US did not veto today the new text that calls for a ceasefire without the condition of releasing the abductees.

This is a clear retreat from the consistent position of the US in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.

This withdrawal hurts both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages, because it gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a cease-fire without the release of our hostages.

Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear last night that if the US withdraws from its principled position, he will not send the Israeli delegation to the US to confer on the upcoming Rafah operation.

Source:
Prime Minister’s Office: ‘USA changed position, no delegation to Washington’, by Israel National News, March 25, 2024

In a significant development yesterday confirmed by Israeli officials, Israel has agreed to release between 700-800 jailed Palestinian terrorists in exchange for the release of 40 hostages.

The prisoners slated for release by Israel include hundreds serving life sentences for their involvement in terror attacks targeting Israelis.

This move marks a major concession by Israel, aimed at securing the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas since October 7th.

Upon first read, it’s mind blowing the number of jailed terrorists offered for release in exchange for only 40 hostages. We cannot understand or condone this agreement.

Despite the concessions, Israeli officials are reportedly ruling out any deal that calls for the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, one of Hamas’ key demands. Israel might only be dangling a carrot here.

Source:
Israel offers to release 800 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 murderers in hostage deal, by Social Links for Ronny Reyes/New York Post, March 24, 2024

The Central Command filed a request last Friday against the ruling of the military court Thursday, which delayed the implementation of the administrative order against activist Elisha Yered until after Purim. After the holiday, a hearing will be held regarding his appeal against the order.

Honenu criticized the request: “This request is detached and is persecution for persecution’s sake. General Fox is busy appealing this decision, which allows a settler to celebrate Purim in his home and is clearly confused. Israel deserves better.”

Attorney Adi Kedar, who represents Yered, wrote in the appeal: “The appellant takes no part in violent action and there is no security reason justifying his removal from the area.” There continues to be “no new information about the appellant’s danger to the security of the region and that there is no justification for keeping him out of it.”

It’s high time to differentiate between who is a terrorist and who is not. That Israel knowingly treats someone like Elisha Yered as a terrorist is a disgrace. Continued actions such as this do not best represent the Israeli people politically or legislatively.

Source:
IDF appeals to bar activist from Judea and Samaria, by Israel National News, March 22, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on Wednesday about his most recent conversation with US President Joe Biden.

“From the beginning, we agreed that we must eliminate Hamas. But during the war, it is no secret, we had disagreements on the best manner to achieve this goal,” Netanyahu stated.

“At the beginning I told the President: We can not beat Hamas without the IDF entering the Gaza Strip. In our most recent conversation, I told him: We can not complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah, to eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions. That is what we will do now as well,” he explained.

Netanyahu added: “As we prepare to go into Rafah, and it will take time, we continue to work with full force. We continue to operate in Khan Yunis, the central camps, eliminating and apprehending Hamas officials as we did now in Shifaa Hospital, eliminating hundreds of terrorists.

As I committed to you time and again – we are determined to reach total victory, and we will achieve it,” he concluded.

Source:
Netanyahu vs. Biden: ‘We will go into Rafah, we do what’s vital for security’, by Israel National News, March 20, 2024

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wants to appoint his man to the post of Deputy Head of the Civil Administration, with powers over the enforcement of illegal construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. As a result, the commanders of the regional divisions in Judea and Samaria will have to justify their decisions on the demolition of “illegal” construction to Smotrich’s Deputy Head, whereas today, such decisions are in the hands of the current Commander of the Central Command.

Smotrich wants the systemic change and the appointment to be done by an executive order rather than legislation, which could be problematic under the gaze of the State Dept. in Washington and the ICC in the Hague.

The former IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and his successor Herzi Halevi are both staunchly opposed to Smotrich’s plan, which probably means it’s a good one. As Smotrich’s office put it on Sunday: “We couldn’t have received a better proof of our opposition to the round of appointments in the IDF by the General Staff that failed on October 7 than the fact that the defense minister and the chief of staff also understand that they have no serious argument on the merits of the matter and are going into the realms of unfounded, made-up accusations. Those who failed will not shape the perception of security, the building of power, and the next high command of the IDF. Period.”

Without a shadow of a doubt, Smotrich’s plan is viewed as problematic because it is another step to the full application of Sovereignty. May it be so!

Source:
Smotrich to Take Control Over ‘Illegal’ Construction Away from Central Command, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 20, 2024

The IDF Central Command has decided to establish a professional team to check for the presence of offensive tunnels in Judea and Samaria.

In the months since the team was established, it has received reports of tunnels in Judea and Samaria, including in the Mt. Hebron and Binyamin regions. A report was also filed several months previously from the town of Bat Hefer, which is near Tulkarm. In each case, no tunnels were found.

A security source stated: “We have seen the use of underground facilities as hideouts and weapons depots in the past. We understand that terrorist organizations are attempting to imitate some of the techniques used in Gaza. We are very involved in this, and our main response will be the offensive operations that we frequently carry out.”

Source:
Judea and Samaria: IDF creates tunnel detection team, by Israel National News, March 19, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that an operation in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza, would take place.

“Since the beginning of the war, we have been fighting on two fronts – the military front and the political front,” Netanyahu began, adding that “on the political front, we have so far managed to allow our forces to fight in an unprecedented manner for five full months. But it is no secret that the international pressure against us is increasing.”

Any approved the operational plans for the operation in Rafah, includes the promotion of the steps to evacuate the civilian population from the battle zones.

Netanyahu also conveyed a message to the world: “Instead of putting pressure on Israel, which is fighting the most just war, against the cruelest of enemies, direct your pressure against Hamas and its patron – Iran. They are the ones who pose a danger to the region and the entire world.”

“I repeat – we will act in Rafah. It will take a few weeks, and it will happen,” Netanyahu said.

Source:
Netanyahu to world: Did you lose your moral compass so quickly?’, by Israel National News, March 17, 2024

The IDF conducted a raid overnight on Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and arrested 80 terror suspects.

The Hamas operatives who returned to hide in the hospital wrongly assumed that Israel, facing massive international pressure, would not dare to respond, even if the IDF and the Shin Bet found out about their presence there, for fear of backlash from Washington and global public opinion.

The mission was prompted by intelligence that Hamas was regrouping in the northern Gaza hospital and planned to reinstate the facility as its local terror headquarters, a role it served before the war.

This “surgical operation” should serve as a warning to terrorists hiding anywhere in Israel that more operations will get underway, and that they can’t run and hide anymore.

Source:
IDF raids Gaza hospital where Hamas terrorists planned to regroup, by Vered Weiss/World Israel News, March 18, 2024

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman spoke to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News about the current state of the US-Israel relationship in light of the recent pressure by the Biden Administration over the war against Hamas.

Friedman commented on the shift in the messages conveyed by the US government from what was felt in Israel in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas massacre, on October 8th and 9th, when the US seemed more supportive of Israel. “It is very unfortunate. Biden made reference to Israel engaging in indiscriminate bombing. This is very, very unfair, and not true. I think he said that their conduct was over the top. He started pushing for a two-state solution. He’s demanding a ceasefire.”

Since certain clusters of Biden’s supporters were “no commitment” in the recent primaries and Donald J. Trump is ahead in the polls. Biden is trying gain votes even if it hurts Israel. Senator Chuck Schumer – no “shomer” of Israel – is also desperate for his party to win and recently called for new elections in Israel to replace Prime Minister Netanyahu. Neither Biden nor Schumer are friends of Israel. This is a time of tremendous danger for the Jewish Nation State, which must stay the course and finish the war to a complete victory.

Sources:
Amb. Friedman: Biden is saving Hamas by trying to stop Israel, by Yoni Kempinski/Israel National News, March 15, 2024

Chuck Schumer’s Democratic Party Just Became an Enemy of Israeli Democracy, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 15, 2024