GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 156

Pointing Fingers At Each Other

He’s Wrong

Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rebutted comments made by Joe Biden that he is not helping Israel with his war leadership as we read in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded publicly and directly on Sunday to biting personal criticism from US President Joe Biden the day before, saying in an interview that the US president was “wrong” when asserting that he is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” with his handling of the war against Hamas.

Responding to Biden’s comments to MSNBC, Netanyahu told Politico, “I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that I’m pursuing private policies against the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts.”

“These are not my private policies only,” Netanyahu continued. “They are policies supported by the overwhelming majority of Israelis.”

Netanyahu was responding to comments made by Kamala Harris and statements in Biden’s State of the Union address:

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday afternoon that Netanyahu’s decision to grant an interview to Politico was made after Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday in which the president warned that humanitarian aid “cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” lamented the fact most of the “more than 30,000 Palestinians” killed in Gaza were not Hamas members, and said “the only real solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “is a two-state solution.”

The Prime Minister added this:

Netanyahu told Politico that Israelis “say the last thing we should do is install the Palestinian Authority” in Gaza, and that they support his position that “we should resoundingly reject the attempt to ram down our throats a Palestinian state.”

“The majority of Israelis understand that if we don’t do this, what we will have is a repetition of the October 7 massacre, which is bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians and bad for the future of peace in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said.

Hamas Blames Israel

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says that failed hostage talks are because of Israel not themselves as we read in an article from The Times Of Israel:

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh claims that Israel is responsible for the collapse of truce negotiations after talks in Cairo last week reached an impasse.

In a recorded speech, the Qatar-based leader of the terror organization says that Israel “evaded giving clear guarantees regarding the ceasefire, the withdrawal of its forces or the guarantees for the return of the displaced Gazans.”

What caused them to draw its own line in the sand? We read this:

Claiming that Hamas “showed positivity and responsibility in the course of the negotiations,” Haniyeh says that the terror group will not accept an agreement “that does not end the war or expel the enemy from Gaza.”

After Haniyeh noted that only an end to the war will get the hostages returned to Israel, he then thanked other terrorists groups for supporting them:

Pledging to ensure that Israel will not recover any of the 134 hostages still in Gaza without a permanent ceasefire deal, Haniyeh thanks the “resistance fronts” –Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as other Iran-backed forces — for supporting the terror group’s fight against Israel.

“The Zionist enemy has failed in all its plans in Gaza, and our people are steadfast in their land despite the thousands of martyrs, wounded and missing people,” says Haniyeh, who left Gaza for Qatar in 2017.

Such banter is only evidence of the big divide between the two sides regardless of how mediators spin a deal is close.

Port Will Hurt Hamas

In a report from JNS.org the Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserted that the corridor will aid taking apart Hamas rule:

The United States-led initiative to provide sea-based humanitarian aid to Gazans via a floating pier will “help lead to the collapse of the Hamas regime,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday.

“We will ensure that the aid reaches those to whom it should get to and that it does not reach those to whom it should not get to,” he added.

Gallant made the comments as he sailed on board a Dvora–type Israel Navy fast patrol boat off the coast of Gaza to closely examine plans to set up a floating humanitarian pier.

He was accompanied by Navy Commander Maj. Gen. David Sa’ar Salama, as well as the head of the IDF Civil Administration, which is in charge of working with the Palestinian population, Maj. Gen. Rassan Elian.

Gallant went on illustrate how it will hurt Hamas:

Gallant pointed out that the sea-based aid corridor is “designed to bring direct assistance to the residents and thus continue to undermine Hamas rule in Gaza. We will bring the aid through a maritime route that is coordinated with the U.S. on the security and humanitarian side, with the help of the Emirates on the civilian side and appropriate checks in Cyprus. The goods will be brought by international organizations with American assistance.”

By taking Hamas out of the operation the aid should actually get to people in need rather than having the terrorists intercept the aid and selling it back to Gazans, Gazans who don’t have the money to buy it. It will take away a key component of their PR arguments as they try to make Israel look bad in eyes of the world.

1st Night Of Ramadan Sees Tension

In an article from The Jerusalem Post we see that on the first night of the Muslim holy time there was some clashes with police:

Crowds of worshipers headed to Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday evening to mark the first night of Ramadan, with Palestinian and Israeli media reporting heavy crowding throughout the Old City of Jerusalem and isolated incidents of clashes with police.

Footage published from one location in the Old City showed police using batons to push back a crowd. The background of the incident was unclear. Footage from other locations showed crowds backed up at checkpoints where people were let onto the Temple Mount in a trickle.

One Muslim agency was not pleased:

The Abraham Initiatives NGO expressed outrage at the clashes in Jerusalem and reports of restrictions on entry to the Temple Mount, calling on Netanyahu to act urgently to restore calm and allow freedom of worship at al-Aqsa.

"The footage of police beating worshipers with batons is shameful and intolerable," added the organization. "We call on [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to act urgently in order to implement his own decision and not let [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir agitate the area through the police. Netanyahu must restore order and calm at al-Aqsa Mosque - and allow freedom of worship for the Muslim citizens of Israel."

Israeli officials said that these organizations are peddling fake news to Muslims:

Earlier on Sunday, police completed preparations to ensure the safety of worshipers, and noted that terrorist organizations and other entities were attempting to spread rumors and “fake news” to incite violence, with such publications increasing significantly in the last few days.

In the past two weeks, Jerusalem District Police arrested 20 suspects on charges of incitement and identification with and support for terrorism. During Ramadan, police will operate a special headquarters to combat incitement attempts. Police stressed that there would be no change in the usual rules and regulations on Temple Mount during Ramadan. Wassam Ali, the head of operations in the Jerusalem District of the Israel Police, noted that police would work to balance the freedom of worship with security requirements.

It is hoped that although calls for a violent month have been broadcast, Muslims won’t heed that and only come to fervently observe the holy month in a peaceful manner. Granted it’s early but one day in and the celebration is fairly controlled. We pray it stays that way.