By MARTIN SHERMAN

While the current coalition is far from unblemished, things could be worse—and have been, recently.

The current Netanyahu-led coalition has been lambasted, almost without respite, from the moment it was formed—arguably even before that, while it was still being assembled.

Unprecedented breach of the basics of democratic governance

It has been accused—usually with only flimsy foundation—of virtually every conceivable flaw—from gross incompetence, through flagrant corruption to brazen embezzlement. While the incumbent government is, like all its forerunners, not unblemished, it is far from the demonized image ascribed to it by an obsessively Bibi-phobic “elite” and a blatantly partisan mainstream press. Moreover, by any impartial comparison with its immediate predecessor, it is a tangible improvement.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who came to Israel this week to bully it into a ceasefire in Gaza, preposterously demanded a one-to-one private meeting with the Israel Defence Forces’ Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi.

At the meeting that took place instead with the war cabinet, Blinken was reportedly put out when Halevi said the war would continue for months because of the challenge mounted by the vast extent of Hamas’s underground military infrastructure.

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Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell’s insistence that the Jewish state would get nothing unless Ukraine got far more killed the remains of the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus.

By JONATHAN S. TOBIN

(February 8, 2024 / JNS)  Whether you considered it high drama or low comedy, the dysfunctional nature of both Congress and the White House was never better illustrated. In the last week, bitter debates about the crisis at America’s southern border, in addition to efforts to provide more aid to Ukraine and Israel, were somehow all pushed together in one unholy mess that unraveled on the floors of the U.S. House and Senate.

Factions within both the Democratic and Republican parties in both the House and the Senate battled opponents on their own sides of the aisle and across it as President Joe Biden and congressional leaders sought to exploit the divisions to get their way. It involved an effort to impeach a cabinet member, as well as cross-party bargaining and secret agreements. At the same time, advocates for shutting down the border, for open borders, and for and against Ukraine and Israel were all seeking to somehow influence the outcome without alienating advocates for other causes.

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David Albright, Iran International  February 8, 2024

In terms of Iran’s nuclear threat, “we’re at a point of Extreme Danger. It’s the first time in years we see all the stars come together into a constellation where Iran may decide to build nuclear weapons.

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Quite simply, UNRWA is fundamentally compromised, and its activities are fundamentally at odds with its stated purpose of providing educational, health, and other services to Palestinians. In fact, UNRWA is part of the vicious cycle of violence orchestrated by Hamas

by Victoria Coates & Brett D. Schaefer, The National Interest February 7, 2024

Critics of the U.S. State Department’s “temporary pause” of additional funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)—after shocking revelations that twelve employees actively participated in the October 7 terrorist attacks in support of Hamas—act as if the UNRWA will suffer a harsh financial blow. It won’t—at least not in the short term.

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T. Belman. This interview was informative and fascinating. Tucker was out of his depth. Putin was brilliant. I particularly liked Putin’s explanation of the need for denazification. Putin talked about the dollar, the world economy, China and BRICS.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours.

Clearly, the US is the aggressor in the Ukraine war. 

Tucker Carlson, X  February 8, 2024

Peloni:  The problem which Ukraine faces was never relatable to any deficiency in Zaluzhny’s capabilities.  Rather, Ukraine suffers from a dearth of troops, arms and the ability and experience of using combined arms tactics.  Placing Syrski in command of Ukrainian forces will not reverse these matters, and given the role which Syrskyi played in Bakhmut, he is more likely to exacerbate the consequences of such deficiencies.  Also, with the home front political opposition stirring against a president who has out-served his re-elect-by date as he challenges the rich and powerful, the losses on the front line may soon become the least interesting aspect of Ukraine.

What’s Next in Ukraine

Stephen Bryen, Weapons and Strategy Substack, February 8, 2024

Volodymyr Zelensky has finally been successful in firing General Valerii Zaluzhny. This time, according to reporting coming from Kiev, Zaluzhny has accepted the order and has thanked Ukrainians for their sacrifice. Zelensky will now fire most of the top brass in the army aligned with Zaluzhny. Choosing Syrskyi is somewhat of a risk, because Syrskyi and Zaluzhny are friends.
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Biden threatens to veto Israel aid. And he will pay no political price.

By David Harsanyi, THE FEDERALIST                    7 February 2024

Cameron Smith/The White House/Flickr

Joe Biden promised to veto any standalone aid bill for Israel, and Hakeem Jeffries and most House Democrats voted against one. The administration maintains that Israel’s security is so “sacred,” it must be tied to a doomed legislative package containing entirely unrelated issues that deal with border security and Ukrainian aid.

Which, of course, makes absolutely zero sense.

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By Noah Beck, AM THINKER                                       8 February 2024

The Biden administration thinks that a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA) could run a post-war Gaza Strip at peace with Israel, but that ignores several inconvenient facts:

But that ignores several inconvenient facts:

1) The latest poll of Palestinian public opinion shows that the PA is deeply unpopular.

2) The same poll shows that 72% of respondents supported the massacre of October 7. But somehow a new Palestinian state in Gaza would embrace coexisting with Israel?

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By Roi Yanovsky, JPOST                                                  6 February 2024

Al Khalady Mosque in Gaza/SHUTTERSTOCK

I was recently released from reserve duty in Gaza, after serving 100 days in the IDF. Since the world can’t see firsthand the things I saw there, I feel I have to share.

For years, well before October 7th, we’ve heard about how terrible life is for the poor, oppressed Gazans. How anti-Israel activists and media outlets claim the Gaza Strip can be compared to an open-air prison. This became the standard, accepted narrative about life in Gaza, promulgated by Al Jazeera and international human rights groups. But now, having experienced it myself, I can confidently tell you that we were lied to.

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by Alan M. Dershowitz, GATESTONE •  February 8, 2024 at 5:00 am

• There are, of course, alternatives less than all-out war, and more than attacks on proxies. They involve the bombing of military targets inside Iran. These include sites used for Iran’s nuclear program, its naval bases and ships, its military drone production, its oil and gas facilities and its command centers. All of these could be accomplished from the air and sea without a ground invasion, and without the loss of American lives an invasion would risk.
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Burgeoning tensions, far removed from its borders, may have serious security ramifications for Israel, much closer to home 

By Martin Sherman, IDSF

 …it would lead to political, economic and social instability. Millions of people would go hungry. There would be water shortages everywhere. It’s huge -,” Mohamed Nasr El Din Allam, formerly Egypt’s minister of water and irrigation, The National, April 23, 2012, on Ethiopia’s 2011 ambitious plans to dam the Blue Nile.    

Ethiopia’s unilateral actions regarding the filling and operation of the dam constitute an existential threat to Egypt and a threat to its stability.–Egypt’s foreign ministry letter to the UN Security Council, October 2023.     

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T. Belman.  After 3 months of intense war, Israel would not start another war if it didn’t have the required munitions to conduct it. Since the White House has kept them on a short leash, Israel must be getting these munitionsd from somewhere else.

Military sources: Israel has ceased negotiations with Hezbollah and informed the American mediators that “war had become inevitable,”
Orders issued to the “Northern Front” of the Israeli army to prepare for a GROUND WAR within the Lebanese borders…
?

— Mudar Adnan Zahran ???????? ????? (@Mudar_Zahran) February 8, 2024

The emirate’s role as a back channel between the U.S. and Iran has metastasized into something far more dangerous

BY Lee Smith, TABLET FEBRUARY 06, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recently caught on a recording wondering why the Biden White House wasn’t putting more pressure on Qatar to squeeze Hamas and free more than a hundred Israeli, American, and other hostages still left in Gaza. Netanyahu told hostage families that Qatar “is no different in essence than the United Nations … and the Red Cross.” The controversial petro-emirate, he clarified, “is even more problematic.”

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Ayelet Shaked: We must have a perimeter, which will be like a safe zone that no one can enter and our villages will not be a few meters from Hamas troops.

Yoni Kempinski, INN Feb 7, 2024

Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked spoke to Arutz Sheva–Israel National News on the current war, UNRWA, the amazing IDF soldiers, and her solution to dealing with Israel’s enemy on the northern border.

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By Tom Nash        6 February 2024

Trying to Rearrange the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

By Stephen Bryen, WEAPONS AND STRATEGY            4 Feb 2024

The Biden administration wants the Ukraine war to continue at least until after US Presidential elections next November.  But there is a lurking danger that won’t be possible, especially if Russia mounts a really big offensive.  For that reason there is a new plan that has been emerging.  It is not in writing but it is in politics.

Victoria Nuland in Kiev, Ukraine on January 31, 2024. ©  AFP / Sergei Supinsky

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In response to an inquiry Israel Hayom, the Prime Minister’s Office stated: “The meeting will take place as usual, as part of the meeting with the prime minister.” No response was received from the State Department.

By Shirit Avitan Cohen, Israel Hayom  02-06-2024

The US has made an unusual request ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel this week.

According to information obtained exclusively by Israel Hayom, the request was that the US top diplomat receive a separate briefing with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi without Israeli cabinet ministers present. However, Israel Hayom has learned that the Prime Minister’s office rebuffed that idea and Blinken will receive the security briefing would remain the same as previous visits, presumably as part of a larger meeting with the War Cabinet.

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