US Says Hamas Must Change, While Israel Notes 1000s of Animals Killed by Gaza Arson

Hamas has been harming Israelis for a long time. Illustrative results of Gaza rocket attack. Photo Courtesy of IDF Spokesperson.

The main United States negotiator for Middle East peace called for Hamas to change it’s ways and recognize Israel in an Op-Ed on Friday, and one day later, another attack by Gaza terrorists had Israel noting that arson and explosive attacks had killed thousands of animals in addition to property damage. Jason Greenblatt, an assistant to US President Donald Trump and US Special Representative for International Negotiations, wrote in The Jerusalem Post last week an entire piece talking about the crisis in Gaza and what Hamas must do to improve the lives of their citizens. The op-ed was a response to an interview done by Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar calling for the betterment of the lives of Gazans and noting that war is not the ultimate answer.

Aside from the obvious of renouncing terrorism, Greenblatt called for Hamas to recognize Israel, allow the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza in a true political reconciliation, and accept the agreements the Palestinians have previously signed with Israel. The US envoy also hinted at human rights improvements to change the corruption and suppression Hamas employs in Gaza today.

Greenblatt noted that the outcome in Gaza is up to Hamas, and one day after the American’s editorial, a fuller picture of Hamas’ violence against Israel was tweeted out by the IDF following yet another attack. … Continue Reading

After Gaza Terrorists Bomb Border Fence in ‘Organized Attack’, Netanyahu Threatens ‘Very Powerful Blows’

PM Netanyahu. Illustrative. Photo courtesy of Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)

After the latest explosive attack by Gaza terrorists against Israel’s border fence and subsequent attempt to infiltrate Israeli territory, Israel has had enough of months of regular terror attacks from the Gaza Strip. “Hamas, apparently, has not internalized the message. If they do not stop the violent attacks against us, they will be stopped in a different way and it will be painful—very painful,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in comments released by his office.

“We are very close to a different kind of activity, an activity that will include very powerful blows.”

Netanyahu’s comments follow similar warnings from Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who told Ynet that war was on the table in the fight against Hamas. Lieberman noted that Israel had tried every other option besides a full-on conflict with Gaza, but that they had reached the point where the next move was to “deliver the hardest blow imaginable on Hamas.” He said the Security Cabinet would determine if Israel would launch a new operation in Gaza. … Continue Reading

Marking Alliance with US, Israel Says We Want Iran to Get Out of Syria, Yemen

PM Netanyahu aboard the USS Ross. Photo courtesy of Kobi Gideon (GPO)

On a day in which the Israelis welcomed a United States naval warship to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod for the first time in 19 years, telling someone else to leave was a theme in the comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marking the occasion. Saying there’s “nothing like the American-Israeli alliance,” Netanyahu said on Thursday, “We are committed to preventing Iran from expanding its empire. We want them to go back to Iran, get out of Syria, get out of Yemen, get out of Iraq and stop building war and misery, creating misery everywhere they go.”

Netanyahu said the US-Israel alliance is manifested “most especially in the sharing of military intelligence and in military cooperation against terror, against the aggressive force of Iran in this region.”

The US and Israel have both been vocal about Iran meddling in other nations’ affairs. The Israelis have taken action to prevent Iran from establishing a militaristic foothold in Syria, where the Iranians have backed the regime for years. As for Yemen, the US has highlighted the Iranian weapons that have been delivered to the Houthi rebels battling the Saudi-backed Yemeni regime and have even been turned on Saudi targets. … Continue Reading

Israel Tells Germans They Will ‘Take Strong Action’ If Gaza Attacks

PM Netanyahu and German FM Heiko Maas. Photo courtesy of Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)

Against the backdrop of months of attacks of various types from Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week issued another round of warnings to the terrorists in the Gaza Strip—this time in comments with Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas. A recap of the meeting issued by Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader “made it clear that Israel would take strong action against Gaza for every action against Israel and the residents of the south.”

Germany is one of the top six most powerful nations in the world in the diplomatic arena, and should Israel need to launch military strikes in Gaza, they may need political support on the global stage. The same day as Netanyahu’s warning, thousands of Gazans rioted against Israel and worse.

“A mob of approx 20K Gazans are burning tires, throwing bombs and grenades, and attempting to break through the border fence with Israel, which 10 armed terrorists did, until we stopped them. In response, an IDF aircraft carried out two strikes in Gaza,” the IDF Spokesperson posted to Twitter last Friday. … Continue Reading

Iranians Write ‘Death to Israel’ on Missiles Striking Suspected Terrorists in Syria

Iran manufactured missile. Illustrative. US Amb. to UN Nikki Haley showing Iranian-made weapons used in Middle East conflict. Illustrative. Photo courtesy of UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS.

Iran retaliated on Monday against a group of terrorists in Syria for what the Iranians believe was their role in perpetrating the recent terror attack in Iran that killed more than two dozen, but even in that the Iranians still had reassert their hatred of Israel and the United States. According to the Fars News Agency, at least one of the six missiles fired by Iran into Syria had written on them the statements “Death to America,” and “Death to Israel”. Neither Israel nor the US are thought to be behind the attack and Monday’s Iranian reports in the Fars and PressTV media outlets do not directly blame Israel—claiming Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were at fault instead.

Israel made clear that they were not involved and responded to the Iranian missile slogan in comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Iran’s attempt to tie Israel to the terrorist attack in southern Iran is ridiculous. The fact that ‘Death to Israel’ was written on the missiles launched at Syria proves everything,” said Netanyahu on Monday, in comments published by his office. His spokesman Ofir Gendelman added on Twitter that Netanyahu believes the “Death to Israel” slogan demonstrates “Iran’s intentions towards Israel.” … Continue Reading

Trump Tells UN ‘Iran’s Leaders Sow Chaos, Death, and Destruction’, while Iran Ironically Calls Israel ‘Most Daunting Threat’

US President Donald Trump. Illustrative. (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen)

United States President Donald Trump has a message for the world: Iran is a threat and so their regime should be isolated by the other nations to curb their aggression. The same day, that same government singled out by Trump for sowing “chaos, death, and destruction”—Iran—pointed the finger at Israel as the planet’s greatest danger, while also slamming the US and rejecting all bilateral talks with the Americans.

Trump, in his speech on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly, unleashed a torrent of negatives about the Iranian regime, especially on how they used the supply of funds released to them in the nuclear deal with the major world powers. “The dictatorship used the funds to build nuclear-capable missiles, increase internal repression, finance terrorism, and fund havoc and slaughter in Syria and Yemen,” said Trump in a transcript of his speech posted to the White House website.

Yet the president of the perpetrator of all those crimes, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, told the same United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that Israel is “the most daunting threat to regional and global peace and stability,” according a transcript of his remarks published by the Fars News Agency. For their part, Israel highlighted the tragic irony of Rouhani’s remarks. … Continue Reading