🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 679, 2023 - August 15, 2025 🎗️

 🎗️Day 679 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivity🎗️

**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**



“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”



We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.



#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope




There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements

*4:00am- Ballistic missile from Yemen - intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace

Captain Yosef Chaim Ashraf, of blessed memory, is the reserve officer who was found lifeless in the north
Yosef, of blessed memory, a son of the city of Tiberias, served as a combat officer in the Commando Unit • He left behind a father, a mother, and a sister • The Military Police is still investigating the circumstances of the incident, which is apparently suspected to be a suicide • In the municipal council they eulogized him: “A hero on the battlefield – and also a hero in civilian life. You were an inspiration and a role model, and you will remain in our hearts forever”



MAY HIS MEMORY BE A REVOLUTION


In the Tiberias Municipality they published the name of Captain Yosef Chaim Ashraf, of blessed memory, a combat officer in the Commando Unit, who was found last night (Thursday) lifeless in the north of the country. Yosef, of blessed memory, left behind a father, a mother, and a sister. The Military Police is still investigating the circumstances of the incident.
One of the council members eulogized him: “With immense heartache we part from the dear Yosef Chaim Ashraf – a friend and a brother along the way. Yosef was a soldier and an officer in the IDF, who contributed hundreds of reserve days, a hero on the battlefield – and also a hero in civilian life. He always stood out in his endless giving, in his great love for people, and in his boundless dedication. He was a modest man, full of light – who always saw the other before himself.”
“In the past year he bought the Eliyahu Hummus branch on HaGalil Street in Tiberias, and there too he continued to give – not only hummus, but warmth and love,” the council member continued. “Yosef made sure that every soldier who came to his business – would not pay, and he distributed with love countless free portions to soldiers – as only a person with such a big heart could do. Yosef, there are no words that can contain the pain and the longing. You were an inspiration and a role model, and you will remain in our hearts forever.”
Since the beginning of the war, there has been an increase in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide compared to the years before, and it seems that this trend is worsening as the war drags on. Only last month, three IDF soldiers ended their lives within a week and a half, and a paratrooper fighter was seriously injured after attempting to end his life at a military base in the south of the country.
If the trend continues, this year will register a 20-year high in the number of suicides in the IDF. In 2024, 21 soldiers committed suicide, and in 2023, 17 soldiers – more than in any other year in the past decade. The number of serving soldiers has also increased during the war, and the IDF has not published data on the suicide rate relative to the number of soldiers, or official data on the number of soldiers who have committed suicide so far this year.

Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage





'You have the power to make history': Families, former hostages appeal to Trump for 50 captives 
 Naama Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Doron Steinbrecher, Sasha Troufanov, Arbel Yehoud and Iair Horn along with Michal Lobanov, warn time is running out, describing harsh conditions, constant fear and the risk of death if fighting expands
Several former hostages and members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday to help secure the release of 50 hostages in Gaza, warning that expanding Israel’s military operations could put them in grave danger.
In a video address in English, former hostages Naama Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Doron Steinbrecher, Sasha Troufanov, Arbel Yehoud and Iair Horn along with Michal Lobanov, widow of Alex Lobanov who was killed in captivity, thanked Trump for helping secure the release of 39 hostages so far.


"President Trump, we want to thank you for bringing us home. We know it wasn't easy. Your leadership and your courage gave us back our lives and our families. We are here today because you chose to act," Levy, freed after 477 days, said.
Ben Ami, who spent 491 days in captivity, described the conditions hostages still face: "Fifty hostages are still there—I was one of them—and I know what life underground means. Endless hunger, constant fear, darkness. Every day there is a fight to stay alive."


Steinbrecher, released after 471 days, said: "I remember being there, hearing the explosions above my head, praying they won't get too close. Every sound made my heart stop. This is what they live through right now, every moment of every day."
Troufanov, freed after 498 days, warned: "The decision to expand the military operation puts each and every one of them in very great danger. Every bullet, every strike could be the one that ends their life."
Yehoud, who survived 482 days in captivity, spoke of her partner Ariel Cunio, still held in Gaza. "My partner is still in captivity. I dream of the day I can hug him again. I dream of the day we can all be here together. They all need to come back home," she said. Ariel's brother David, is also still held in Hamas captivity.
Lobanov, whose husband Alex Lobanov was executed by Hamas last August, urged immediate action. "For my family, it was already too late. When the military pressure closed in, Hamas executed my husband. He came back to me in a coffin. President Trump, please act now before it's too late for them too," she appealed.
Horn, released after 498 days, appealed for his brother Eitan Horn, still in captivity. "You have the power to make history, to be the president of peace who ends the war, ends the suffering and brings every hostage home, including my little brother," he said.
The group concluded their plea with a repeated call: "Bring them home. Bring them home. Bring them home. Seal the deal." Link




Brother of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat says autopsy shows Hamas tortured him to death 
Elgarat was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7; his family was told he died of a heart attack, but his brother says an autopsy showed severe injuries from torture and newly obtained video shows him emaciated and begging for his life in captivity
The brother of Itzik Elgarat, abducted during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and returned dead months later, says an autopsy shows he was tortured to death in captivity.
Danny Elgarat said Thursday that his brother was found with multiple broken ribs, fractures in his toes and a broken nose, injuries he said were caused by external pressure on the chest and other violence.


“Itzik did not die of a heart attack,” Elgarat said. “Itzik was murdered with extreme cruelty.”
Elgarat said the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv could not legally determine the exact cause of death but confirmed the extent of the injuries could be fatal. He accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to protect victims of the Oct. 7 attack, calling the cause of death “Mr. Abandonment.”


Last week, five months after Itzik was buried in his home community of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Danny said he viewed footage of his brother recorded in Gaza before his death. He said Itzik appeared emaciated, frightened and confused, and pleaded in the video to return home to his family.
“I saw in his eyes that he knew he would probably never get out of there alive,” Elgarat said. “We waited so long to see him alive, but not after he was dead.”
Itzik Elgarat was identified on Feb. 27, 510 days after he was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. His coffin was returned to Israel overnight as part of a hostage deal. Three other hostages — Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mansour and Tzachi Idan — were also identified that day. Link


Israel's message to the mediators—and the warning received in Jerusalem: "You won't reach a deal this way."  

Israel made clear to the mediators that it would only be willing to discuss a comprehensive deal. "Do not approach us regarding a partial deal—as far as we're concerned, it's a deception," Minister Dermer explained to the mediators. On the other hand, the mediators warned: Israel's and Hamas's demands are far apart, to the point that reaching a deal may be impossible. All the details.  
Israel delivered a firm message to the mediators—stating it would only be willing to discuss a full deal for the release of hostages, as we reported last night (Thursday) on "The Main Edition." However, the mediators clarified to Israeli officials that the gaps between Israel and Hamas are significant, making an agreement unlikely.  
"Do not approach us regarding a partial deal—as far as we're concerned, it's a deception," Minister Dermer, who is responsible for the hostage issue, told the mediators. "Hamas has been deceiving us for months; it wants to buy time and prevent entry into Gaza. We won’t fall for that again."  
Conversely, the mediators warned that Israel's demands and Hamas's demands are too far apart, leaving no common ground for an agreement. Therefore, the mediators are holding parallel discussions with Hamas officials—primarily through the Egyptian channel—on a phased, gradual deal. This is based on the assessment that if Hamas abandons some of the demands it set weeks ago, the stalled agreement could be advanced.  
Sources in Israel, including within Netanyahu's inner circle, are telling him: "Don’t dismiss this move." For now, at least publicly, senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu and Dermer, say they are only willing to discuss a comprehensive deal on Israel's terms—otherwise, the operation in Gaza will expand.  
Earlier today, we reported on N12 that Mossad chief Dedi Barnea visited Doha today and met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for talks on the hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, according to two foreign sources familiar with the details.  
Barnea's trip to Qatar comes amid efforts by the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to formulate a comprehensive deal to end the war in exchange for the release of all hostages held by Hamas.  
A source familiar with the details said Barnea emphasized in his talks in Doha that the mediators must make clear to Hamas—the Cabinet's decision regarding the occupation of Gaza City is not a deception or psychological warfare, but a move Israel seriously intends to carry out if no progress is made in negotiations for the hostages' release.  Link

Israel and Iran







Gaza and the South



UN says 13,000 children treated for malnutrition in Gaza in July as aid trickles in

Humanitarian agency says vast majority of aid trucks raided en route, but notes that despite challenges, food prices have dropped and kitchens are producing more hot meals

Close to 13,000 children were admitted to treatment centers in Gaza due to acute malnutrition in July amid severe food shortages, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a periodic update on the situation in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The update released Wednesday painted a dire picture for the children of the Strip, with increased cases of acute malnutrition and hospitalizations putting the enclave’s overburdened and tattered healthcare system under even more strain.

According to OCHA, the total number of severe acute malnutrition cases diagnosed in children in July rose to 2,800, or roughly 22 percent of all childhood malnutrition cases diagnosed last month.

While in most cases, acute malnutrition can be treated at any of the 106 outpatient sites dedicated to it across the Gaza Strip, OCHA said cases in which hospitalization is required have become increasingly challenging.

In total, 129 cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications that required hospitalization were diagnosed in July. This marked a sharp uptick in cases, as between the months of January to June, there were just 215 cases requiring hospitalization.

Despite the rising demand, there are still only five sites across the entire Gaza Strip at which children with complications of severe acute malnutrition can be stabilized and treated, OCHA said. Two of the stabilization sites are located in Gaza City, one is in Deir al-Balah, and the final two are located in Khan Younis.

In total, there are only 43 beds available across the five combined sites.

The report did not confirm the ages of the children diagnosed with malnutrition over the past month.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said that 42 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since July 1, along with 129 adults, although those numbers could not be independently verified.

Widening its purview to examine the state of the humanitarian conditions across the entire Strip, the OCHA report painted a bleak picture.

It said that while the UN’s World Food Programme collected 1,012 trucks carrying 13,000 metric tons of food from Gaza’s border crossings in July, only 10 of them ever reached their intended warehouses once inside the Strip.

The remainder were “offloaded en route,” it said, although it was unclear whether this was referring to organized theft or to looting by crowds of hungry civilians.

In theory, OCHA said, the Food Security Sector believes there is enough food in or en route to Gaza to feed the population of roughly 2.1 million people for the next three months. But in reality, “the risk of spoilage and infestation of the stranded food supplies has significantly increased, and some of them are reaching their expiry dates.”



Palestinians struggle to get food and humanitarian aid from the back of a truck as it moves along the Morag corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 4, 2025. (AP Photo/ Mariam Dagga)

It said that FSS was calling for “large-scale humanitarian assistance with guaranteed safe, unimpeded and sustained access” to ensure that the full amount of food earmarked for Gaza truly reaches its intended destination.

Images of starving Gazans drew international outrage last month and heaped pressure on Israel until, on July 27, it announced measures to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip.

But aid agencies have warned that the slightly eased measures — including restarting the practice of airdropping supplies into Gaza — are not enough to fill the gap created by long months of little to no aid entering the enclave, and that on top of that, only a fraction of what is sent ends up entering the Strip.

Israel strongly denies limiting aid supplies and accuses Hamas of exploiting deliveries to boost its military capabilities.

On Thursday, dozens of aid groups signed a statement alleging that Israel was refusing to let a number of international NGOs distribute aid in Gaza, leaving millions of dollars’ worth of food and other assistance sitting in warehouses and putting future aid operations at risk.

Separately, the Haaretz newspaper reportedthat massive amounts of humanitarian aid have been spilling off trucks in Gaza and going to waste because the IDF is not allowing organizations to properly secure the cargo.



Damaged trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza are parked next to the border with the Gaza Strip near the Kissufim crossing in southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

According to the report, Israeli soldiers at the Kerem Shalom Crossing rush aid workers to quickly load cargo onto trucks that are regularly delayed for hours at a time. Because the food isn’t tied down well and aid seekers are not given ample time to identify the route being used, aid has become easy to loot when the trucks reach areas where civilians are waiting.

The poorly secured aid also leads to large amounts of it spilling over, as the roads used by aid groups have been badly damaged by the war.

Even satellite images can show long trails of flour extending from the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that coordinates aid, said in response to the signed statement from aid workers that Israel invests “considerable efforts” in aid distribution, and does not place “any quantitative limit” on the number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip.

The agency did not address specific questions about aid shipment volumes, nor did it address Haaretz’s claim regarding Israeli restrictions on properly fastening aid to trucks.

Ingredient prices drop, access to hot meals increases

But even with large amounts of aid failing to reach their intended destination, and the dire warnings that the aid is falling far short of what is needed, the impact of the eased regulations could be felt in the Strip, OCHA said, as “different types of food have started to trickle into the markets.”

As a result, the eased restrictions have lowered the price of some basic ingredients, it said, with the price of sugar dropping to NIS 30-40 ($9-12) per kilogram as of August 10, down from a peak price of NIS 600 ($180) per kilogram earlier this year.

And it wasn’t just ingredients that were becoming more available for Gaza’s civilians — the amount of hot meals prepared by humanitarian groups was increasing too, OCHA said.

It said that as of August 10, 324,000 meals were being prepared each day at 81 community kitchens across the Gaza Strip, up from 259,000 two weeks earlier.

Of that number, around 99,000 are distributed to people in the north of the Strip, and 225,000 to those in the center and south.

While trending in the right direction, OCHA reiterated that those numbers fall far short of the roughly one million meals that were distributed across the Strip daily back in April.

“People continue to suffer from extremely imbalanced diets that lack essential nutrients, increasing the risk of acute malnutrition,” it cautioned.






A girl sits by water containers while displaced Palestinians wait to collect water in the Mawasi area of southern Gaza, on August 14, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Accessing humanitarian aid in the Strip continues to be dangerous, even though the quantity has somewhat increased in recent weeks, with near-daily reports of mass-casualty incidents near aid sites persisting.

On Thursday, a spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said six people had been killed while waiting for humanitarian aid.

While the spokesman did not say whether the alleged incident occurred near an aid truck or at a designated aid distribution site, the majority of such incidents have been reported to occur near aid sites run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The United Nations says more than 1,300 people have been killed trying to obtain aid supplies in the enclave since the GHF began operating in May, most of them shot by Israeli forces operating near GHF sites.

Israel does not often comment on individual reports of shootings near aid sites, but the IDF has acknowledged in the past that it fires warning shots at crowds that get too close to its soldiers. Israel has also said the UN tallies exaggerated, though it hasn’t provided alternative casualty figures. Link




IDF says ‘key’ Hamas terrorist killed in southern Gaza airstrike last week

A “key terrorist” in Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis last week, the military announces.

According to the IDF, the strike on August 9 killed Nasser Musa, who served as the head of Hamas’s “control department.”

As part of his role, the military says Musa was responsible for the “readiness and exercises of the terrorists in the brigade.” He held additional roles in the Rafah Brigade, including in the unit’s intelligence and surveillance arrays, the IDF says.

According to the military, Musa was a close associate of Muhammad Shabana, the commander of the Rafah Brigade, who was killed alongside top Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in May.

Meanwhile, the IDF says fighter jets hit a building in Khan Younis yesterday that was used by terror operatives to store rockets. The IDF publishes footage of the strike.










Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria



Hezbollah chief threatens ‘no life in Lebanon’ if government tries to seize weapons
Naim Qassem warns not to ‘hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor’ but says terror group is still open to dialogue


Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem threatened the Lebanese government Friday over its efforts to disarm the Iran-linked terror group, claiming that there would be “no life in Lebanon” should its weapons be taken by force.

Qassem warned that Hezbollah would fight to keep its weapons, saying any forcible seizure would lead to internal unrest, undermining the country’s national security.

He further accused the government of buckling to Israel, saying its leaders were “implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife.”


“The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it… if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost,” he said, cautioning the government “not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed.”

Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi’ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests against a US-backed disarmament plan as they still see room for dialogue with the Lebanese government, he said. But he added that any future protests could reach the US Embassy in Lebanon.

The terror chief leveled the threats as the Lebanese cabinet moves forward with the implementation of a US-backed roadmap to disarm Hezbollah, in line with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that was largely ignored until the organization received a brutal beating in the 2023-2024 conflict with Israel.

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said the cabinet accepted the principles of the US proposal — such as “the gradual end to the presence of non-state armed groups in the country, including Hezbollah, both north and south of the Litani River” — but added that the full details of the plan were not discussed in depth.
The step is aimed at further weakening the terror group, already losing its grip on power since the 2024 ceasefire with Israel and the rise of the new Lebanese government.

Hezbollah ministers walked out of a cabinet discussion on the plan last week, as the Iran-backed group derided the move as a “grave sin” and vowed to act “as if it did not exist.”
President Joseph Aoun doubled down on the move on Wednesday this week, warning a senior Iranian official on a visit to Beirut against interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs.
Aoun told Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, that “it is forbidden for anyone… to bear arms and to use foreign backing as leverage.” Despite Iranian opposition to the move, Larijani vowed Tehran’s continued support.
Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy that has acted largely in line with Tehran’s wishes over the years.

Iran and its so-called “axis of resistance” — including Hamas in Gaza and Yemen’s Houthis — have suffered a series of blows in their long-running quest to eliminate Israel after Hamas sparked the ongoing war with Gaza with its October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israeli communities.
Hezbollah suffered devastating losses to its infrastructure and leadership after launching cross-border attacks on Israel a day after the 2023 Hamas-led invasion. In September 2024, Israel launched a major offensive against the group, which ended with a November 2024 ceasefire.
Israel has already signaled it will not hesitate to launch military actions if Beirut fails to tackle the group, and routinely carries out airstrikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire. It says it is responding to violations of the agreement and that the truce’s terms allow it to do so.  












West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks



Settlers said to injure several Palestinians, torch property in overnight attacks
Husband and wife reportedly wounded and hospitalized after settler raid, the first of 3 separate attacks overnight, none of which resulted in arrests






Extremist settlers were reported to have injured several Palestinians and torched their properties in a spate of attacks on West Bank villages overnight Thursday.

The attacks came amid a burgeoning wave of settler violence in the West Bank, with two Palestinians reported killed this month amid clashes in the territory.

At around midnight, a man and his wife were wounded in the southern village of Susya, after a gang of settlers were said to have attacked their home. Footage from the scene showed a middle-aged man with a bloodied head and torso. The two were evacuated to a hospital.  video


Located in the South Hebron Hills, Susya is one of several villages in the area that have been frequently targeted by settlers from nearby outposts in recent years.

Shortly after that incident, settlers were said to hurl Molotov cocktails at homes, vehicles and property in the Palestinian village of Atara in the central West Bank.~


No one was known to be injured in the incident, though a large fire and plumes of smoke could be seen in a video recorded after the alleged assault.


Then, early Friday morning, three young Palestinian men were injured by gunfire after settlers reportedly raided the village of Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, according to Palestinian state-run outlet Wafa.
The village and its surrounding area have also seen a major uptick in settler violence, particularly over recent months. In July this year, two residents, one of them an American citizen, were killed in nearby Sinjil during a reported settler raid.

There were no reports of arrests related to any of the three incidents that took place overnight. The Israel Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Security forces have rarely arrested Israelis in incidents of settler violence that have been taking place on a near-daily basis throughout the West Bank. Palestinians and left-wing activists have claimed that the army and police purposefully refrain from cracking down on the phenomenon, thus spurring it on further.
In the rare case that Israelis are arrested, the suspects are typically set free soon afterward.
Such was the case with Yinon Levi, who was arrested in late July on suspicion of negligent homicide after allegedly shooting dead Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian farmer from Umm al-Kheir, in the southern West Bank during clashes.

Levi, who lives on an illegal farming outpost in the area, was released to house arrest on August 1 and later freed entirely, after a court ruled that evidence against him had weakened. Shortly after he was freed, new footage was released showing the settler — who is sanctioned by the UK, EU, and previously the US — firing in Hathaleen’s direction before he collapsed.

Since the killing of Hathaleen, two more Palestinians have been killed amid similar clashes involving settlers and locals.
Armed settlers reportedly killed 24-year-old Mouin Asfar on August 2, shooting him dead in the central West Bank town of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus.
According to Haaretz, 10-15 masked, armed assailants approached an olive grove belonging to Asfar’s family. The encounter soon became violent, with Palestinians throwing stones to protect their property, and settlers responding with gunfire.
The bullets reportedly hit eight people, including Asfar, who succumbed to his wounds. Three others were critically injured, but have since recovered.
On Wednesday this week, an off-duty soldier reportedly fatally shot a 35-year-old Palestinian man, Thameen Dawabsheh, during clashes in Duma. They broke out after settlers arrived in the area, apparently to prepare land for the construction of a new illegal outpost.
The IDF told Haaretz that “dozens of Palestinian assailants threw stones at an off-duty IDF soldier and an Israeli civilian” during what it dubbed “civilian engineering work.”
“The soldier responded with warning shots in the air. The assailants continued throwing stones, and the soldier then fired to remove the threat. A hit was confirmed.”  LINK The settler terrorism continues daily. Many of the incidents don't get into the news because they are not newsworthy enough. Death, fires, injured people are what gets into the news. But the settler terrorism goes much further and deeper. There are daily incidents of Palestinian property being stolen or destroyed, settlers entering the homes of Palestinians for 2 purposes: to threaten their lives and to show them 'who is the boss'. Settlers commit their terrorist acts with total impunity and immunity. Besides the vocal extremist messianic ministers who encourage and promote such violence, the entire Netanyahu government is complicit in these crimes by saying nothing and doing nothing to prevent the terror. This amounts to government sponsored ethnic cleansing and terrorism and should be acknowledged and a spotlight needs to be shown, not just on the terrorist and their terrorist acts but also on this government of enablers for their complicity.

In night’s second reported attack, settlers said to hurl Molotov cocktails at Palestinian village

Settlers reportedly hurled Molotov cocktails at homes, vehicles and property in the Palestinian village of Atara in the central West Bank.

It is the night’s second reported settler attack, coming shortly after another one in the southern West Bank village of Susya that left several people injured.  video

Politics and the War and General News



Hundreds of retired air force officers protest Israel's war in Gaza



TEL AVIV, Israel — Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets every week to protest the ongoing war in Gaza and the government's failure to bring home Israeli hostages. 

But on Tuesday, a different kind of demonstration took place: hundreds of retired Israeli Air Force pilots rallied against the war outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

It was the first time the group, which calls itself "555," had gathered in person to oppose the Israeli cabinet's latest decision — to launch an operation to capture Gaza City and expand the nearly two-year war. The crowd, most over 60 years of age, stood under a banner reading "Don't kill hostages and soldiers" — a message that echoed throughout the speeches. 

Many also stressed that their call to end the war wasn't only about Israeli lives, but about the deaths of Palestinian civilians as well.

Among them was Dan Halutz, a former chief of staff of the Israeli military and ex-Air Force commander. Challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that Hamas still poses a significant threat, Halutz told the crowd, "Who among the senior commanders in the IDF believes Hamas is a strategic threat we can't defend against? I don't believe there's such a person."

Turning to Israel's current chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, Halutz added that "the war has run its course. Gaza is destroyed — structurally and humanly. There's no army there. The last Hamas operatives are hiding." 

Halutz also addressed Netanyahu directly, saying that if the prime minister had listened to President Joe Biden and ended the war a year and a half ago, "things would look different today." The former commander accused the government of lacking the legitimacy to wage a war that "most of the public opposes." He added that "the war in Gaza is eroding our morals, our values as human beings and as Jews. We will lose the right to send soldiers into battle if we don't bring home those we already sent."

Hagai Katz, one of Israel's most decorated fighter pilots and part of the 1981 air strike on Iraq's nuclear reactor, was also there to oppose the campaign to capture Gaza City. He told NPR that he rejected Netanyahu's promise that the move would eliminate Hamas once and for all.

"We got promises from Netanyahu almost two years ago that only military pressure will eventually be effective. We heard it again and again," said Katz. "That's what we heard when he went into Rafah. That's what he said when we moved to Khan Yunis. And now again, the same story about Gaza — but we believe we'll get to the same outcome now, with more dead hostages and probably soldiers and Palestinians."

When asked what he would say to Israeli pilots now striking Gaza from the air, Katz acknowledged the moral dilemma they face.

"That's a very tough question because in today's war, unlike 50 years ago, you don't see the target. You get an accurate position or a picture, and you trust the system to check that there are not too many innocent bystanders around. On the other hand, realistically, we know that a lot of uninvolved people are getting killed. So they have a real dilemma: stop attacking or quit reserves — and in that, in some cases, quit protecting Israel — or keep going and kill innocent bystanders. It's a major issue on the table."

Would he fight in Gaza if he were still serving?

"Probably I wouldn't," he answered. "And if that means I would have to leave the service, I would've done that."

The pilots' protest adds to a recent petition by former heads of Israel's security services calling for the war to end. Polls show a large majority of Israelis support ending the Gaza war in exchange for the hostages' release. Yet the cabinet's approval to launch a campaign to take control of Gaza City has drawn warnings from the current military chief, Israel media reported, who says such an operation could endanger the lives of the estimated 20 surviving hostages in Gaza.

So far, the army has not issued call-up orders for reserve soldiers to bolster mission. But the public debate — both in Israel and abroad — over whether the operation is legitimate is only expected to intensify as universities said they were planning to go on strike this coming Sunday. Link

Netanyahu’s statements in closed conversations that revealed his intentions
Although Smotrich said he lost trust and accused Netanyahu of lying, he chooses to remain in the government – and he knows why. With help from Ben Gvir and also from Trump, he is flanking Netanyahu from the right and pushing the deal away. Does the Prime Minister himself know where he is aiming, or is it just playing for time? It may be that the promises he spread to hostage families indicate the real direction. - Yaron Avraham, Commentary

It doesn’t feel so far away, that moment when three Hamas terrorists came out of a vehicle with three female hostages we had been so worried about: Emily, Doron, and Romi. After them came four female observers: Liri, Karina, Daniela, and Naama, unwillingly leaving Agam for a few more days in captivity. Then Agam came down from the rubble, and Arbel and Gadi, who met for the first time that morning, returned together. How we worried nothing would happen to them right before they would be handed over to the Red Cross. Then came Ofer, Yarden, and Keith, and afterwards Ohad, Eli, and Or – and we could hardly believe this is what they looked like, but here they were, at home, ready to move forward.
And it continued – more breath returning to our lungs when Sasha, Sagiv, and Yair came back, then Omer and Omer and Eli-e and Tal, and of course Avra and Hisham. With each one, it was a hug, a closing of a circle, and life resuming. But that was it. Since that point, five months and a few days ago, no more hostages have been released as part of a deal – except for Idan Alexander, who was released as a “gesture” from Hamas to the Americans.




A month ago it seemed like it was happening again: another deal taking shape before our eyes between Israel and Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington, and the families’ expectations soared. Netanyahu, who met with the families, told them: “We are on the right track; we will bring your children back.” That still hasn’t happened.
The prevailing theory is that Hamas piled on difficulties under cover of the starvation campaign, which succeeded in grabbing world headlines and even the attention of the U.S. President, alongside the diplomatic tsunami still hitting Israel today, as more and more countries call for establishing a Palestinian state. And indeed, that’s what happened: Hamas insisted on a significantly higher number of terrorists to be released than agreed upon through mediators, refused Israeli presence deep inside the perimeter, and insisted on distributing humanitarian aid via the old mechanism.

The starvation campaign also caught the attention of the U.S. 
But some in the Israeli system wonder aloud: “This isn’t what blows up a deal. Whether 500 trucks enter through the old mechanism and 100 via aid centers, or all the trucks go through the old mechanism and from there to Hamas – is that what sinks a deal? No, that’s not it, nor is the gap between a presence in the perimeter at 800 meters or 1,200 meters from the border. These are trifles when we’re talking about matters of life and death, about saving human lives from hell,” says a senior official familiar with the intricacies of the negotiations.

That same official also blames: “Hamas posed obstacles, but Israel should never have cut off contact. Even if it brought the delegation back for consultations, it should have returned them to Qatar and pushed in every way for agreements. Cutting contact in the room is the worst thing you can do. If the negotiators don’t understand that, they don’t understand a basic principle in managing compromises. You can argue, blow up, even cut off contact momentarily, but it must never become a short circuit you can’t fix.”




Armed men on humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza | Photo: Reuters

Disagreements about the past may belong to the past, but even now – right these days and minutes – there are differences in how the levels responsible for the talks view the way Israel should act. One approach says that until there is a clear sign Hamas is ready to be flexible, we don’t return to Qatar or Egypt. Another approach says sitting on the fence and waiting for Hamas is exactly what the terror group wants – to drag out time – and Israel must not fall into that trap. It must constantly initiate and bring up new proposals.

Even if the contacts fail, being active and pushing for breakthroughs gives Israel much more international credit and convinces the mediators that the party stalling is the Gaza terror group – not the Israeli government. Passivity serves neither the negotiations nor Israel’s image and international backing.
Now into this mix come two figures: U.S. President Donald Trump and Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich. Strangely enough, both are pulling in the same direction. Trump, via special envoy Steve Witkoff, talks about “all or nothing” – in other words, if Hamas won’t agree to a full deal, Israel can do whatever it wants to defeat it and try to bring back the hostages through significant military pressure. Smotrich says exactly the same thing, but in reverse: Israel mustn’t wait at all for the terror group’s willingness to enter the room – it must act now with full force, not wait, as Trump wants, assuming threats won’t lead Hamas into flexibility.

This flanking from the right, by both Trump and Smotrich, fits well into Netanyahu’s decision-making process and even became fertile ground for a fierce dispute between two of his closest advisers. On one side, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi, who, as we revealed, opposed the plan to conquer the Gaza Strip and supported that of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir: encircling Gaza City and carrying out targeted raids with commando forces and airstrikes. On the other side, Netanyahu’s confidant and whisperer, Ron Dermer.

Minister Dermer believes the time is up and now is the moment for a move to decisively defeat Hamas, even if it means harming the hostages – a statement that until a few weeks ago wouldn’t even enter Israel’s lexicon of possibilities. Dermer believes Israel must slam the door on a partial deal, also because its conditions for ending the war are light-years away from Hamas’s. And Netanyahu? No one had much doubt – he chose Dermer’s approach, which, as noted, is also Smotrich’s.

It’s worth pausing on Smotrich’s harsh words toward Netanyahu this week. “I have lost faith that the Prime Minister can and wants to lead to a decisive victory,” he said in a carefully staged video, as though the Religious Zionism leader were deep in campaign mode. During the cabinet meeting, Smotrich was even more explicit, telling Netanyahu: “You are lying to the public. Your whole goal in the plan to conquer Gaza is to bring Hamas to a deal; you don’t want to win.” These are dramatic statements. A minister and senior partner to the Prime Minister is essentially telling him (and not for the first time) that he is not telling the truth, that he is misleading, that he is lying.

Many in the political system thought Smotrich would quit the government – but it didn’t happen. There are three main reasons: first, Smotrich is the leader of a party that “doesn’t exist.” He doesn’t pass the electoral threshold in polls, and if this continues, the next Knesset he’ll see only in memory. Second, the moves Smotrich is making in the West Bank – while Israeli attention isn’t there, there is a dramatic building boom and approvals for new neighborhoods and settlements at scales Smotrich could only dream of in the past. He won’t quickly end this “quiet revolution.” Third, because the Prime Minister, in his political wisdom, quickly had his people brief that “a partial deal is off the table.” Smotrich got what he wanted, at least on paper: the cabinet approved a plan to conquer Gaza, to be stopped only in case of agreements on conditions for ending the war – not for a partial deal after which Israel might not be able to resume fighting.

Netanyahu’s political maneuvering is also evident in the cabinet decision itself, which can be interpreted in at least three ways. Some will say it’s a preliminary step toward conquering Gaza that will proceed even if hostages are harmed. Smotrich and Ben Gvir are willing to create this actual hierarchy between war aims: while they don’t want to see hostages harmed, toppling Hamas matters more to them than freeing the hostages. If that’s how the decision is read literally, both can be satisfied.




Where is the Gaza war headed – and how can Netanyahu and the cabinet’s decision be interpreted? | Photo: AP

A second way to see the decision is that it’s still a gradual one, which will take time to implement, and the IDF will act in a measured way and try as much as possible to avoid harming the hostages. This approach is easier to “digest” for the public, the army, and perhaps some ministers who voted in favor only out of loyalty to Netanyahu rather than their conscience. A third way is to see the decision as a whip, a threat, leverage on Hamas to bring it back to the negotiating table. In such a situation, the Americans are happy, some of Netanyahu’s senior ministers are happy – but Smotrich and Ben Gvir less so. One decision, and at least three ways to read it. Is it any wonder Netanyahu manages to keep all the balls in the air?

By the end of this week, believe it or not, it’s still unclear which of the options Netanyahu is aiming for. Does he himself know? Doubtful. Still, judging by what he says in closed conversations, by the promises he has spread to families, and by his own recent words: Netanyahu wants a deal. If a partial deal comes, it’s fair to cautiously assess, Netanyahu won’t say no. It won’t solve the strategic problem before him, but it will buy him time. And time, as the Prime Minister surely knows in his situation, is a much more vital resource for survival than a decisive decision.  link

• Nearly two years on, Hamas terroristsw still await trial for October 7 crimes 

  At least 200 suspects remain jailed, with delays blamed on chaotic evidence collection, legal hurdles and political concerns, as Israel considers a special tribunal for prosecutions

  
  

  Nearly two years after Hamas’ terror attack on October 7, 2023, no Hamas terrorist involved has yet faced charges, according to a comprehensive report by The New York Times published Wednesday.

  Hundreds of Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of direct involvement in the massacre. Public records cited by The Times indicate that at least 200 remain in detention. Israel also holds roughly 2,700 additional Palestinians detained in Gaza during the 21 months of fighting following the terror attack, suspected of links to Hamas or other terrorist organizations, though not necessarily for direct participation in the October 7 assault.

  
  

  The IDF killed many senior Hamas terrorists in Gaza who planned the terror attack, but some in Israel fear that delays in prosecuting those in custody could allow some terrorists to evade justice. Palestinians and human rights groups raise separate concerns, claiming Israel systematically violates detainees’ rights by holding them in harsh conditions without indictment or trial, and limiting access to legal counsel. Broad gag orders keep most case details confidential, and most detainees are absent from public records.

  The way Israel detains those prisoners “effectively erases these individuals from public awareness and strips them of fundamental rights,” said Nadine Abu Arafeh, a lawyer representing Gaza detainees in other Israeli court cases. “Families in Gaza live with questions: Are their loved ones alive?” The Justice Ministry declined to comment.

  
  

  Delays in advancing October 7 cases partly stem from the chaotic evidence collection immediately after the terror attack. According to Moran Gez, a former senior prosecutor who oversaw cases of detainees suspected of involvement in the attack, and Yesh Atid MK Yulia Malinovsky, the regular criminal justice system was ill-suited to handle the sheer volume of evidence and the compromised state of some of it.

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  The breached border fence during the October 7 terror attack

  Israel extensively documented the October 7 atrocities, including footage filmed by the terrorists themselves. According to the IDF, thousands of Palestinian terrorists from Gaza participated in the terror attack, which the UN classified as including war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

  
  

  Gez and Malinovsky said investigators skipped many steps in evidence collection amid the chaos. Some bodies were buried before forensic examination, and the sheer scale of killings complicated ballistic experts’ ability to match bullets to specific weapons. “Survivors who witnessed the events often did not immediately report their experiences to the legal authorities, and they quickly scattered across the country before the authorities could contact them,” Gez added.

  Knesset member Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman accused prosecutors of failing to adapt legal procedures to the scale and extraordinary nature of the terror attack. He also said security authorities initially opposed advancing terrorist cases early in the Gaza war, though opposition has since ceased.

  

  Attorney Moran Gez (Photo: Gadi Kabalo)

  Malinovsky suggested Israeli officials feared that proceeding with cases might intensify public scrutiny of government and military failures or harm ongoing hostage negotiations. “They don’t want that discourse,” she said. The Prime Minister’s Office refused to comment on prosecution delays, and the Israel Prison Service and Justice Ministry did not provide information on the detainees.

  Special tribunal considered

  Israeli lawmakers recently took initial steps toward prosecuting some terrorists, as the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved in late May a proposal to establish a special tribunal. Until the law passes, if at all, months may pass before the first terrorists face trial.

  
  

  Rothman and Malinovsky helped draft the bill, aimed at bypassing legal obstacles by creating a 15-judge special tribunal with limited authority to circumvent the regular criminal system. The bill proposes charging terrorists with genocide, punishable by death under Israeli law.

  

  MK Yulia Malinovsky (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

  Other countries have created similar tribunals in response to war or mass atrocities, according to Yuval Shany, a senior researcher with the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based research group, citing U.S. military commissions set up to prosecute Al-Qaeda suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

  All 2,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza during the war are defined as “unlawful combatants,” allowing Israel to hold them without indictment or trial under its law. As part of the recent hostage deal earlier this year, Israel released over a thousand of these detainees, along with women and minors arrested during the war. If ongoing negotiations with Hamas lead to a new agreement, remaining detainees may also be released in exchange for hostages still held in Gaza.

  The lengthy detention of so many people without trial “risks becoming a life sentence without the usual protections of the criminal process,” said Monica Hakimi, a Columbia Law School professor and international law expert.

  

  Palestinian inmates at the Sde Teiman detention camp (Photo: CNN)

  According to IDF and the Israel Prison Service data provided to Physicians for Human Rights through freedom-of-information requests, at least 48 Palestinian detainees have died in custody. Former detainees told The Times last year that they were beaten with fists, kicks, clubs, rifle butts and hand-held metal detectors. Two said their bones were broken, and three reported receiving electric shocks during interrogations. The IDF denied "systematic abuse" at the Sde Teiman detention camp, where thousands of Gazan detainees were held earlier in the war. The Shin Bet security service said all its investigations were "conducted in accordance with the law.”

  
  

  In late July, the Knesset extended emergency provisions allowing continued detention of terrorists until January 2026, suggesting they may not face charges for at least six more months. Link

The Region and the World


UK says Israel’s new E1 settlement plan is flagrantly illegal and ‘must be stopped now’
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy says Israeli plans to develop a settlement project that would divide the West Bank and cut it off from east Jerusalem mark a breach of international law and must be stopped immediately.
“The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law. The plans must be stopped now,” Lammy says in an emailed statement.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Wednesday that he plans to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 housing units in the highly controversial E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank, saying the move “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.” He said Thursday that the plan is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


UN blacklists Hamas terrorists after verifying sexual violence in Oct. 7 massacre 
UN secretary-general’s report adds Hamas to 'blacklist' of groups committing sexual violence in conflict, citing rapes, genital mutilation and abuse that Israel says continues against hostages


The United Nations has formally acknowledged that Hamas terrorists committed — and continue to commit — some of the most brutal sexual crimes on record, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation and sexual abuse in captivity.
After UN Secretary-General António Guterres resisted adding the terror group to the “blacklist” last year, and following extensive efforts by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the UN is expected on August 14 to distribute the Secretary-General’s annual report to all members of the General Assembly. The report details the “blacklist” of groups committing sexual crimes in armed conflicts — and, for the first time, it includes Hamas.


Earlier this year, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, reported on these crimes. Hamas’ inclusion on the blacklist now constitutes an official international recognition of its guilt in crimes that rank alongside war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israeli officials say the sexual abuse has not stopped, and that Hamas terrorists are still assaulting hostages in Gaza. Jerusalem continues to call on the international community to secure the immediate release of all hostages and to dismantle Hamas. At the same time, Israel’s Foreign Ministry is working to counter false allegations of sexual crimes being spread against Israel.


In February last year, Patten said she could not sleep for a week after being shown the IDF’s 47-minute compilation of atrocities. “Only after I saw the footage did I understand things I hadn’t before, in terms of the magnitude of the disaster,” she said.

Pramila Patten, UN envoy for sexual violence, visits Kibbutz Nahal Oz (Photo: Foreign Ministry)
Patten was invited to Israel by the Foreign Ministry’s International Organizations Division and then-UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan to witness the scale of the atrocities firsthand. Erdan, who accompanied the visit, stressed: “Patten’s visit was especially important for us so there would be international recognition of the suffering and horrific sexual crimes committed against Israeli women and girls on October 7 by Hamas monsters — and so the world understands who we are fighting. The UN’s disgraceful indifference and inaction cannot continue.”
“This is a landmark moment in the international fight against sexual violence in conflict,” said Profissor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, head of the Rackman Center at Bar-Ilan University and one of the leaders of Project Dinah. “This was the top recommendation in our recent book, 'For the Sake of Truth,' which was also delivered to Secretary-General Guterres. The message is clear: the world sees these crimes, calls them by name, and will not allow them to be erased from history.”
Col. (res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas, director of Project Dinah, added: “We call on the UN, the International Criminal Court, and governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide to move from recognition to action — and bring Hamas terrorists to justice in every possible forum.” Link It's about F__king time. It only took the UN about a year to believe that there was a possibility that these crimes were even committed and now, almost 2 years after, they are finally formalizing what all of us have known since October 7. It's good that someone's life didn't depend on the 'speedy' action of the UN.
World largely decries new settlement plan, warns it will scuttle 2-state solution
UN, Europe, Arab nations slam bid to resume building in contentious E1 area; US issues vague statement; Smotrich says move a response to Western push for Palestinian state
Europe, Arab countries and the United Nations, alongside Israeli rights groups, on Thursday assailed a government plan to greenlight the construction of thousands of Israeli homes in a contentious area of the West Bank, after the move was announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The far-right politician said that he intends to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, a plan that he claimed Thursday “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The UN called on Israel to reverse its decision, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. “It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution,” he told reporters. “Settlements go against international law… further entrench the occupation.”
The EU urged Israel “to desist” from its plan, with top diplomat Kaja Kallas saying in a statement, “The decision of Israeli authorities to advance the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law.”
The plan was also condemned by British Foreign Minister David Lammy, who said it marked a breach of international law and must be stopped immediately.
“The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law. The plans must be stopped now,” Lammy said in an emailed statement.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the move shows Israel “seeks to appropriate land owned by Palestinians in order to prevent a two-state solution.”

Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide addresses the media during a press conference at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on April 4, 2025. (Nicolas Tucat/AFP)
Egypt came out firmly against the plan, with Cairo’s Foreign Ministry denouncing the minister’s “extremist statements,” saying they serve as a “new indication of Israeli deviation and arrogance.”
The Egyptian ministry linked Smotrich’s announcement to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remark earlier this week in an i24News interview in which the prime minister acknowledged a connection to the expansionist vision of a “Greater Israel.”
Qatar, which has mediated between Hamas and Israel in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, joined Egypt in denouncing Smotrich’s actions as a “blatant violation of international law.”
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United States to pressure Israel into halting the plan.
Speaking separately to the Associated Press, PA Foreign Ministry official Ahmad al-Deek called the plan “colonial, expansionist and racist” and claimed that it is par for the course for Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
“It falls within the framework of the extremist Israeli government’s plans to undermine any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the ground, to fragment the West Bank and to separate its southern part from the center and the north,” he said.
The E1 settlement project has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations, which feared the new settlement neighborhood would prevent the establishment of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state.
The plan would connect the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim metropolitan areas, while simultaneously scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah, which has long been considered the basis for a Palestinian state.
The construction scheme is scheduled to receive final approval from the government’s Higher Planning Council next week, on August 20.

A picture taken from the controversial E1 corridor in the West Bank shows the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the background, Feb. 25, 2020. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
Israeli rights groups also condemned the plan, with the anti-settlement watchdog organization Peace Now warning that resuming construction in E1 is “deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution.”
“We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed. There is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the terrible war in Gaza — the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel — and it will ultimately come. The government’s annexation moves are taking us further away from this solution and guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed,” the group said in a statement.
Breaking the Silence, a left-wing group established by former Israel Defense Forces soldiers, accused Smotrich of encouraging West Bank settlement activity as the Gaza war continued to capture global attention.
“This land grab and settlement expansion will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid,” it said.
Plan is ‘answer on the ground’ to Palestinian state recognition
Smotrich — who, in addition to being finance minister, holds a junior ministerial position within the Defense Ministry that gives him wide say over settlement construction — said Thursday that Netanyahu supported the controversial plan, as the premier remained mum on the dramatic step.
“He backs me up in everything concerning Judea and Samaria, and is letting me create the revolution,” Smotrich said at an event in Ma’ale Adumim organized by the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing local authorities in settlements.
“After 20 years of delays… the traffic jam has been broken [and] the E1 plan is underway,” he continued, adding that the government is “fulfilling the promise and connecting Ma’ale Adumim with a strategic, security and demographic connection, which ensures our united capital for generations.”
Smotrich said that the resumption of the long-frozen project was a response to a wave of Western countries that announced or floated plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.
“Today, anyone in the world who tries to recognize a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground,” he declared. “Today we are writing a historic chapter in the story of the redemption of the people of Israel in their land.”
He also claimed that US President Donald Trump and Ambassador Mike Huckabee backed the step, hailing them “men of truth with a clear and distinct moral voice that is not confused by the hypocrisy of the West.”
Trump and Huckabee did not comment specifically on Smotrich’s E1 announcement as of Thursday afternoon. The US State Department, however, issued a vague statement stressing the importance of “stability” in the West Bank in response to reporters’ queries about the plan.
“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with the Trump administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” said a statement from the agency.
“We remain focused on ending the war in Gaza and ensuring Hamas will never govern Gaza again, freeing the hostages, including the remains of two Americans, and facilitating the delivery of critically needed humanitarian assistance,” the statement continued, indicating that the US is less focused on developments in the West Bank than those in Gaza.  Link

Germany calls on Israeli government to nix new West Bank settlement plan
Germany calls on the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said work would start on a plan for thousands of homes in a contentious area of the West Bank.
Germany “firmly rejects the Israeli government’s announcements regarding the approval of thousands of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank,” says a foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement.
Plans for the E1 settlement project and the expansion of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half and cutting the area off from East Jerusalem, says the spokesperson.
Smotrich announced on Thursday that work would start on the long-delayed settlement, a move that he said “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Germany has repeatedly warned the Israeli government to stop settlement construction in the West Bank, which violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
Such moves complicate steps towards a negotiated two-state solution, says the spokesperson.
Personal Stories




Acronyms and Glossary
COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
IPS - Israel Prison System
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen


PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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