News from the Middle East Forum  October 23, 2023

PHILADELPHIA – October 23, 2023 – A poll commissioned by the Middle East Forum finds overwhelming support among nearly all sectors of the Israeli public to eliminate of Hamas.

When asked the question “what should Israel’s primary objective” be in the forthcoming war, 70 percent of respondents answered “eliminate Hamas.” In contrast, 15 percent answered “secure the unconditional release of captives held by Hamas” and 13 percent answered “disarm Hamas completely.” Revealingly, 54 percent of those who said they voted for the Arab party in the last election also favored eliminating Hamas.

“It is clear the public is calling overwhelmingly for the elimination of Hamas; nothing short of that will be considered a victory,” notes Nave Dromi, director of the Middle East Forum’s Israel Office. “The decision-makers now have the statistics to demonstrate where the citizens of Israel stand on these issues; Israelis call on them to act accordingly.”
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Ankara has politely shown the door to Hamas leaders staying in Turkey, according to two sources, as it walks a diplomatic tightrope, careful not to jeopardize its recent thaw with Israel while maintaining support for the Palestinian cause.

Fehim Tastekin   @fehimtastekin

October 22, 2023

Turkey has been trying to carefully calibrate its stance in the face of the war that Hamas launched against Israel on Oct. 7, maintaining its advocacy of the Palestinian cause while cooling ties with Hamas and seeking to avoid a fresh fallout with Israel.

The crisis hit at a time when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pursuing normalization with regional powers, including Israel. After years of bilateral spats, Erdogan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month and invited him to visit Ankara.

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IMRA

Technical note: Save thousands Israeli soldiers  by using GBU-28 Bunker Buster before ground invasion (IAF has them since 2009)

Dr. Aaron Lerner 23 October 2023

#1. The GBU-28 can punch through a 22 foot thick stack of steel reinforced concrete slabs with considerable energy to spare (citation below).
#2. Israel has the  GBU-28 since 2009.  F15 jets are used to bomb with the BGU-28.<
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by Bassam Tawil, GATESTONE  •  October 23, 2023 at 5:00 am

• The Biden administration’s assertion that Hamas is an insignificant group of terrorists that does not enjoy the support of many Palestinians is not only false; it is dangerously so. This assertion contradicts the reality, which proves that Hamas actually does represent a significant portion of the Palestinians.
• This inconvenient reality is based on public opinion polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) and the results of elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and university student councils and professional unions. It is also based on mass demonstrations and rallies in support of Hamas before and after the October 7 carnage in which Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,400 Israelis and wounded more than 4,000.
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T. Belman.  The only reason Biden is letting us destroy Hamas is to enable the PA to take over and to enable the formation of a Palestinian state. He knows that his “humanitarian corridor” will make Israel suffer more casualties.  Like Kissinger , he wants Israel to “suffer a bloody nose” so she will be more pliable.

Unfortunately, Gallant and Bibi agree with his final solution. “The third phase will require the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel,”. Any daylight between them and Biden?

The only solution is to drive the Gazans into Egypt or at least into the south 20% and to annex the rest. In 1948, the Arabs fled and after the war, Israel refused to let them come back. The same must happen now.

Nuts: Israel is cautioned to do no harm to “innocent” Gazans.

Jack Engelhard   Oct 22, 2023, 7:57 AM (GMT+3)

I hope I don’t come across as being angry.

For what Hamas did to my People, I guess it’s okay to be sad, horrified, dismayed…but not angry. As the Rebbe says, all other nations may fight to win, but only Jews must turn the other cheek. They must not be angry.

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The Caroline Glick Show

EVERYONE IS RESTRAINING US.
BIDEN IS DOING EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO ACHIEVE A PALESTINIAN STATE AS A RESULT OF THIS WAR.
THAT’S WHY HE IS LETTING US DESTROY HAMAS SO THE PA CAN TAKE OVER.

His visit to Israel was a study in cognitive dissonance.

By Caroline Glick  October 20, 2023 

( JNS) In nearly every statement and speech U.S. President Joe Biden gave during his brief sojourn in Tel Aviv, he insisted that Hamas does not represent the Palestinians and that the Palestinian Authority is their true representative. The P.A., the president insisted, does not share Hamas’s goal of eradicating the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Biden foresees a future where the P.A. is in charge of the Gaza Strip, and Israel agrees to a Palestinian state in Gaza, as well as in Judea and Samaria.

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If Israel Wants to Continue to Exist, It Must Uproot Hamas from Gaza

By Prof. Eitan Shamir, BESA   October 22, 2023

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: On October 7, 2023, Israeli deterrence completely collapsed. As a result of a surprise attack by Hamas, Israel suffered a severe defeat in terms of casualties and property losses. The enemy infiltrated Israeli territory, captured cities and towns, decimated their populations, and held them for many hours. The only way to turn this achievement by Hamas into a pointless endeavor is for Israel to dismantle the Hamas regime in Gaza and destroy its military capabilities. This is for two reasons. First, in order to ensure the safe return of Israeli citizens to the Gaza periphery, the threat must be removed completely and their sense of security fully restored. Secondly, an end to the war without the destruction of the Hamas regime in Gaza would be considered a success for the terrorist regime and serve as a model and inspiration for other actors in the radical axis who seek the elimination of Israel.

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T. Belman. According to Yoram Ettinger, there are about 1.6 million people in Gaza.  I have taken the position that the evacuees not be allowed to return and that Israel should annex the northern 80%. I am going to bring this idea to the attention of Smotrich, BenGvir and Martin Sherman and others

750,000 Gazans defy Hamas to obey IDF orders to evacuate northern Gaza as the  military steps up its attacks on Hamas leadership.

Israel National News     Oct 22, 2023, 2:23 PM (GMT+3)

Airstrike in GazaAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash90

The IDF estimates that Hamas has lost control of the Gaza Strip and its leaders are troubled by the fact that hundreds of thousands of civilians have already moved to southern Gaza as the IDF requested and in defiance of Hamas’ orders that they remain in northern Gaza so they can be used as human shields by the terrorist organization.

So far, according to IDF estimates, about 750,000 Arabs have left their homes in northern Gaza for the south. The IDF made it clear to the residents who remained in northern Gaza that anyone who does not leave will be considered a supporter and collaborator of Hamas.

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By Vladimir (Ze’ev) Khanin October 15, 2023

One cannot fail to notice that the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Arabs occupies a distinct place in the ideological and political discourse accompanying post-Soviet armed conflicts, primarily the Russian-Ukrainian and Armenian-Azerbaijani conflicts. This can involve the use of allusions and symbols associated with the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, aimed at ideologically justifying one’s position and demonizing the opponent. It also pertains to the attempts of direct participants in post-Soviet conflicts and/or external actors to leverage fluctuations in Israel’s relations with the “Palestinian National Authority” (PNA) in Ramallah, which governs the Arab enclaves in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley (or, the “West Bank of the Jordan River”, in international discourse) on one hand, and the enclave of Islamic fundamentalists in the Gaza Strip on the other.

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Nuts: Israel is cautioned to do no harm to “innocent” Gazans.

Jack Engelhard  Oct 22, 2023, 7:57 AM (GMT+3)

I hope I don’t come across as being angry.

For what Hamas did to my People, I guess it’s okay to be sad, horrified, dismayed…but not angry.

As the Rebbe says, all other nations may fight to win, but only Jews must turn the other cheek. They must not be angry.

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We’re still living out the consequences of Obama’s worldview.

by Daniel Greenfield, FPM   October 20, 2023 

In 2014, Hamas kidnapped and killed three teens, including Naftali Frenkel, an American 16-year-old. “I’ve murdered three Jews,” the killer boasted.

As Israel battled Hamas, Obama called for a ceasefire. “I have no sympathy for Hamas. I have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling within Gaza,” he argued, while describing the terrorists as having behaved “extraordinarily irresponsibly”.

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T. Belman. My daughter is part of that effort. We have invited a 71 year old woman and her dog from up north to join us for as long as necessary..

Movements set up to oppose government’s judicial overhaul bid metamorphose overnight to coordinate unprecedented civilian rescue and relief effort

By SUE SURKES, TOI      Today, 5:58 am

During the harrowing days since over 2,500 Hamas terrorists poured into Israel to slaughter 1,400 people, injure thousands, commit barbaric acts of atrocity against people of all ages and kidnap more than 200 to Gaza, civil society has quickly mobilized to an almost overwhelming degree.

Around 15,000 Israelis have answered the clarion call of movements that metamorphosed overnight from activists against the government’s divisive judicial reform proposals to coordinators of a massive infrastructure to rescue and support fellow citizens in distress.

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T. Belman. It goes without saying that we have the right to defend ourselves. So the world does us no favour by repeting this refrain. The purpose of such resolution is to limit our ability to defend ourselves.

It is not clear if or when the United States plans to put the draft resolution to a vote.

Israel National News    Oct 22, 2023, 4:40 AM (GMT+3)

The United States on Saturday proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution that says Israel has a right to defend itself and demands Iran stop exporting arms to “militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region.”

The draft text, seen by the Reuters news agency, calls for the protection of civilians – including those who are trying to get to safety – notes that states must comply with international law when responding to “terrorist attacks”, and urges the “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.\ Read more…

TOI

BEIRUT — A top official with Hezbollah vows that Israel will pay a high price whenever it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and says that his terror group based in Lebanon already is “in the heart of the battle.”

The comments by Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, came as Israel shelled and carried out drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel. Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed today, the highest daily toll since the violence began two weeks ago.

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STOLEN ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.

[click on picture]

By Martin Sherman, IISS

The population of Gaza is not the VICTIM of Hamas;

It is the CRUCIBLE, in which Hamas was formed and from which it emerged

(May 18, 2018 / JNS)

“Hamas supporters in Gaza held the world’s first peaceful protest with hand grenades, pipe bombs, cleavers and guns. Ten explosive devices were peacefully detonated. There were outbursts of peaceful gunfire and over a dozen kites carrying firebombs were sent into Israel where they started 23 peaceful fires. And Israeli soldiers peacefully defended their country leaving multiple Hamas attackers at peace.” – Daniel Greenfield, Frontpage Mag, May 15, 2018.

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You’re in an abusive relationship. It’s time to speak out.

By Boaz Munro, TABLET

In the wake of the most savage butchery meted out upon our people since the Holocaust, you’re glued to social media. You may not be able to sleep or enjoy anything. Our deepest wounds were ripped open last Shabbat, and you’ve been learning how few degrees of separation there are between you and the 1,400 innocent Jews who were bound, burned alive, shot, beheaded, and dismembered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.

And yet somehow that’s not what feels the worst.

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Staff Sgt. (res.) Omer Balva, a dual Israeli-American citizen, flew from US to report for duty, was killed Friday night; 3 others hurt; defense minister meets with troops in north

By EMANUEL FABIAN Today, 1:52 pm

<
Smoke rises from inside an Israeli army position which was hit by missiles launched by the Hezbollah terror group, as seen from Tair Harfa village, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, October 20, 2023. Inset: Staff Sgt. (res.) Omer Balva, killed in a Hezbollah missile attack. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar; Israel Defense Forces)

An Israeli reserve soldier was killed on Friday night in an anti-tank missile attack along the border with Lebanon amid renewed skirmishes, the Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday.

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