The Biden administration wants Israel to bring in Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party to rule Gaza when the war is over. Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority, which governs much of the West Bank. Uniting Gaza and the West Bank under a common government is a necessary step in the Biden administration’s seemingly unshakable goal of creating a Palestinian state sandwiching Israel.

The idea behind the strategy has a long history. Fatah is a secular, Arab nationalist party that occasionally claims to want peace with Israel, albeit on terms that would make Israel’s existence as a Jewish state untenable. Yet for many diplomats this makes it an attractive alternative to the terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 attacks. But Fatah is a junior-varsity version of Hamas. Both have lethal policies when it comes to Israel. The Palestinian Authority sponsors the “pay to slay” salary program that provides financial rewards to terrorists, who get more lavish payouts for crimes that result in longer imprisonment. As recently as Oct. 2, an official Palestinian Authority TV broadcast showed Mr. Abbas saying: “Our martyrs, prisoners and wounded are the most sanctified that we have. . . . Our martyrs have a right to this money.”

Source:
Don’t Give Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, by Eugene Kontorovich and Itamar Marcus/Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a declaration on Wednesday evening which included a message for the Hamas terror organization.

“We are continuing the war to the end. It will continue until the elimination of Hamas – until victory. Whoever thinks we will stop is not connected to reality. We will not stop the fighting until we reach the goals we set: the elimination of Hamas, the release of the hostages, and the removal of the threat from Gaza,” the Prime Minister declared.

“All Hamas terrorists, from the first to the last, are dead men walking. They only have two options: surrender or die,” Netanyahu concluded.

With tremendous international public protests pressuring Israel to end the war and the U.S. issuing statements that mislead the public on how Israel fully takes into consideration the safety of civilians, we trust Prime Minister Netanyahu will stay the course and continue eliminating this terrorist threat.

Source:
Prime Minister Netanyahu: ‘Hamas terrorists have two choices: surrender or die’, by Israel National News, December 20, 2023

Since October 7, the International Red Cross has been helping imprisoned Arab terrorists receive controversial terror stipends from the Palestinian Authority, a watchdog organization accuses.

According to Palestinian Media Watch, incarcerated Arab terrorists fill out forms to receive the “pay for slay” stipends and the Red Cross delivers the paperwork to Ramallah.

“The role of the International Red Cross in this process is central,” PMW director Itamar Marcus explained to the Tazpit Press Service. “The international health organization is involved in this because as they visit prisoners, they’re able to bring in forms. Israeli security is not looking at the forms or preventing the terrorist prisoner access to the forms they need to sign.”

Is the Red Cross aware that they are enabling the pay for slay process? That Israeli security is not checking the forms to begin with is deeply troubling. We would like to see this report bring about change with the Red Cross’s enabling of pay for slay.

Source:

Red Cross Under Fire For Facilitating PA’s Pay for Slay Terror Payouts, by Sveta Listratov/Jewish Press via TPS, December 21, 2023

In a targeted operation in the middle of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Subhi Ferwana was eliminated by an IAF fighter jet directed by IDF and Shin Bet (ISA) intelligence.

Ferwana was a prominent financier who, together with his brother, was involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars to the Hamas terrorist organization and its military wing in the Gaza Strip through their money exchange company, “Hamsat”, over the past few years.

Source:
Blow to Hamas’ money flow | Top Hamas financier eliminated in IDF strike, by Israel National News, December 9, 2023

]The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday revealed the largest-ever Hamas attack tunnel discovered by the military, in the northern Gaza Strip, close to the Erez border crossing with Israel.

The tunnel, of which around four kilometers (2.5 miles) were uncovered by the IDF, goes down some 50 meters (165 feet) underground in some areas and appears to be wide enough for vehicles to pass through. It did not enter Israeli territory. It also said the tunnel allowed for the movement of vehicles, and “many weapons” belonging to Hamas were found inside.

In a press conference Sunday night, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the tunnel was “no ordinary tunnel. It’s a city. A terrorist city underground that Hamas dug and built instead of investing money in the residents of Gaza.”

Source:
IDF uncovers largest-ever Hamas attack tunnel, near northern Gaza border crossing, by Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, December 17, 2023

Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli told Ynet Sunday that “there is logic” to resettling some Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip after Hamas has been completely defeated.

Chikli completely backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his oft-repeated statements of late that the idea of the Palestinian Authority taking charge in Gaza after Hamas is crushed is a complete non-starter.

“The option of the Palestinian Authority, which educates for terrorism, for the murder of Jews, doesn’t exist,” he said. “We didn’t pay with the blood of our best sons so that they get the control.”

Source:
Likud minister hints at possible rebuilding of Jewish towns in Gaza, by Batya Jerenberg/World Israel News, December 17, 2023

Calling its members “Nazis,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday rejected the idea that Israel will transfer tax money to the Palestinian Authority, putting a kibosh on reports of an agreement to do so the day before.

“If there is anyone who thinks that we will hand over a shekel to the Nazis in Ramallah so that they can hand it over to the Nazis in Gaza—he doesn’t know where he’s living,” Smotrich said.

Source:
Smotrich: No tax money will go to PA ‘Nazis’, by JNS Update Desk, December 18, 2023

Yemen-born journalist Hussein Alwaday has suggested that to defeat Hamas Israel must kill every last member of the terrorist group, because of what he dubs the “Palestinian delusional disorder.” Simply put, according to Alwaday, “As long as one Hamas terrorist remains alive, he will stand in front of the whole world and declare, We’ve won.”

The IDF’s moral superiority renders it inferior when facing an enemy that has no scruples at all and takes pleasure in displaying wanton cruelty. In the end, what will define a victory in this war?

Source:
As IDF Braces Israelis for Disappointment in Gaza, Victory Will Stem from Occupation, by David Israel/Jewish Press, December 14, 2023

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan dramatically held up a poster bearing the phone number of Hamas’ central office on the United Nations floor Tuesday and urged other members to call if they want a “real ceasefire” in Gaza.

Erdan made the impassioned plea shortly before the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“I honestly don’t know how can someone look in the mirror and support a resolution that doesn’t condemn Hamas and doesn’t even mention Hamas by name. But you know what? I have an idea. If you want a real ceasefire, here is the right address,” Erdan said before whipping out the sign.

Source:
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan holds up poster with Hamas’ number, urges UN members to call it for ‘real ceasefire’, by Katherine Donlevy/New York Post, December 12, 2023

A rocket launch post used to fire at the Israeli city of Sderot was struck by the IAF, as the IDF operations against Hamas in Gaza continue.

Since Monday, the IAF has hit a number of launch posts used to fire rockets at Israelis across the country from inside the Gaza Strip. IDF troops in Jabalya identified a post launching rockets toward the city of Sderot. In response, the forces directed an aircraft that struck the launch post.

This is great news to have found the source of rocket attacks against Sderot. While the terrorist threat has not been fully eliminated – yet – we pray the residents of Sderot can rest a bit easier now.

Source:
IDF takes out rocket launcher used to fire towards Sderot, by Israel National News, December 12, 2023