GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 180

War Fronts Could Be Expanding

Politics Are In Play

Only a day after Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly opposed having new elections until after the war effort ends a prominent war cabinet member calls for elections as seen in an article from The Times Of Israel:

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz called Wednesday for Israel to hold early elections by September, partially wading into a swell of voices urging the government to step down, in light of wide dissatisfaction with the continued captivity of Israelis in Gaza and questions over how the war against Hamas is being waged.

In a televised press conference, Gantz insisted that going to the polls in some six months would be necessary to “maintain unity” and “renew trust” in the government he joined on an emergency basis following the October 7 onslaught.

The comments came only days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly ruled out elections as a danger to national security, an argument reprised by his Likud party Wednesday night.

Gantz went on to explain his logic:

“We must agree on a date for elections in September, about a year from the war,” Gantz told reporters in the Knesset. “Setting such a date will allow us to continue the military effort, while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us.”

He mentioned that he has been talking with Netanyahu before making this announcement and added more about his decision:

Stating that he has discussed the matter with Netanyahu in recent weeks and plans to continue to do so, Gantz suggested that early elections would provide Israel with international legitimacy — a likely reference to increasingly public comments by allies, particularly the US, regarding dissatisfaction with the continued rule of Netanyahu and his far-right allies.

“I believe Israeli society needs to renew its contract with its leadership and I think the only way to do it and still maintain the national effort in fighting Hamas… and other security challenges is by having an agreed election date,” Gantz told The Times of Israel, when asked to elaborate on his call.

“And I hope that my political partners and friends, and maybe some rivals as well, will agree to it because I think it serves all the country and all its sectors at the same time.”

Not Everyone Agrees

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to expect a response from the opposition party and sure enough, there was one with the added twist of the opposing party to the Prime Minister speaking out as well:

Gantz’s comments prompted harsh criticism from both Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who insisted that the centrist politician had not gone far enough.

“At a fateful moment for the State of Israel and in the midst of a war, Benny Gantz must stop engaging in petty politics just because of the disintegration of his party,” the Likud said in a statement, referring to the recent split between Gantz and New Hope – The United Right, led by Gideon Sa’ar.

“Elections now will inevitably lead to paralysis, division, harm to the fighting in Rafah and fatal damage to the chances of a hostage deal. The government will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved,” it said.

Lapid, meanwhile, insisted that Israel “cannot wait another six months until the worst, most dangerous and failed government in the country’s history goes home.”

Supporters of Netanyahu from other parties to his right agree with him on the timing:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, also dismissed the idea of holding elections in 2024.

“This is the time for war and victory. Not the time for politics,” he tweeted.

This calling for new elections comes just a day after IDF drone strikes killed humanitarian workers, an action that received international criticism and with some using it to aim those harsh words for Netanyahu himself. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is right when he says new elections would play right into the hands of Hamas who are also pushing for them. That should tell anyone outside of Israel what is really happening in the spirit realm. The Prince of Persia is probably dancing with joy now.

Iran Wants To Swallow Jordan

In a report from The Jerusalem Post we see that Iran could be working from inside of Jordan:

Increasing protests in the Kingdom of Jordan are causing concern in the Gulf about the direction the protests may take. In addition there is concern that Iran is seeking to exploit the protests and work with the Muslim Brotherhood to undermine Jordan’s stability. A recent report at Al-Ain Media in the UAE examined this issue and is worth looking at in-depth to understand the developments.

First of all it’s worth noting that in the wake of October 7 Iran has sought to set the region aflame by operating its proxies and militias. It prodded Hezbollah to attack Israel on October 8 and pushed the Houthis to target Eilat and ships in the Red Sea.

It then mobilized militias in Iraq and Syria to attack US forces.

Chaos would appear to be the plan:

Yesterday US forces in Tanf garrison in Syria also downed a drone flying in Syria near their post. It is likely that Iran viewed October 7 as the first shot in a longer war that is designed to bring Hamas to power in the West Bank and weaken the Palestinian Authority. To do this it has to weaken Jordan as well to weaken the PA’s eastern flank of stability that is guaranteed by Jordan’s support for the PA.

In addition, this week Abu al-Askari, spokesperson of Kataib Hezbollah threatened Israel and claimed that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq could help arm groups in Jordan to threaten Israel. This shows that Iraqi militias, backed by Iran, are increasingly looking to destabilize Jordan. In the past, pro-Iran gangs in southern Syria have also trafficked drugs near the Jordanian border and clashed with the Jordanian army.

Hamas, the article states has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood:

Hamas has roots in the Brotherhood and the Brotherhood has activists in Jordan. “The Brotherhood organization seeks to implicate Jordan in the raging events in Palestine while creating chaos in the country by expanding the demonstrations and making them unpeaceful, while publishing allegations that increase acts of violence and enable them to obtain more popular sympathy in the region that has expelled them and made them undesirable.

Iran Has Bigger Plans

Ultimately, Iran wants to run things in Jordan and then use its army to also attack Israel:

There are also other worrying developments. The group may want to “revive the popular army and arm Jordanians to fight a battle with Israel. It called on Jordanians to march to the borders of the occupied territories, previously made by the military leadership of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and the leadership of the movement’s political bureau, headed by Khaled Mashal.”

Iran doesn’t want to stop with Jordan either:

The report links this to similar calls in Lebanon and Yemen regarding Hezbollah and the Houthis. It says that Iran has sought to open the borders of Jordan and Egypt to fighters who want to attack Israel as part of the “resistance axis.” Thousands of fighters in Syria could already attack Israel from the Golan, the report notes, but it correctly points out that the demand is focused on Jordan and Egypt “in order to achieve the axis goals of swallowing up the rest of the countries of the Arab region and subjecting them to the Iranian project, according to observers.” This “reveals that the Brotherhood in Jordan is working to put pressure on the Jordanian leadership to intensify the atmosphere in the street... that may lead to Jordan sliding into chaos.” It is a dangerous situation “which ultimately serves the Iranian project.”

So now we see that Israel is beginning to have reasons to attack Jordan as well, something we see in the Psalm 83 war, a war some think isn’t in the Bible. In the end, I see Israel taking back the territories around them as a way to rid them of the threat of attacks, attacks they have had to endure for a very long time and want to never see again. I keep saying this if anyone wants to listen. While I pray this war ends peacefully, it looks more and more like the IDF will need to expand the current fronts if ending terrorism is the goal. Which is yet another good segue to praying for the peace of Jerusalem.