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Analysis We need to face up to the scale of the axis against Israel The Jewish Chronicle 17.1.24 Image Source: idf website There is onslaught against Israel and the Jews from an unholy alliance between extremist Muslims, the left and the political class, and we need to start taking the fight to them Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Analysis Hamas Built Tunnels Beneath My Family’s Home in Gaza. Now It Lies in Ruin Time 13.2.24 Image Source: IDF website It’s been seven years since I escaped my embattled city of Gaza and came to the U.S. On Thanksgiving, my mother sent me a photo of a felled 16-ft. tree in southern Gaza, where my family has been sheltering these last weeks. Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Analysis Spotlight on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict (September 10 – 17 , 2024) The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) 18.9.24 Image Source: The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) IDF operations in Gaza targeted Hamas' facilities, destroying 80% of tunnels and collapsing the Rafah Brigade. Meanwhile, Hamas negotiations continued regarding hostages, and a senior Hamas leader proposed a consensus government post-war. Original Article The southern arena : IDF forces continued their activities in the southern and central Gaza Strip, including attacks on Hamas facilities operating in civilian compounds. The IDF announced the collapse of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade and the destruction of 80% of all the tunnels on the Philadelphi Axis. Two IDF soldiers were killed and seven injured in a helicopter crash. The hostages and the ceasefire agreement : Hamas held talks with the mediators from Egypt and Qatar, stating it adhered to the outline agreed upon on July 2, 2024 and would not accept new demands from Israel. The situation in the Gaza Strip : The first phase of the drive to vaccinate Gazan children against polio ended and 90% of all children have received the first dose. In coordination with Israel, more than a hundred sick and wounded Palestinians were evacuated for treatment outside the Gaza Strip. Hamas published letters sent by Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, for the first time since he took office. “The day after:” A senior Hamas figure stated that the movement was interested in having a Palestinian national consensus government manage the Gaza Strip after the war, adding that the organizations would hold a meeting to promote a common vision. Israel, Judea and Samaria : This past week Palestinians carried out two terrorist attacks; an IDF soldier was killed. The Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria. Palestinian Authority (PA) : The PA representative to the UN attended a General Assembly session, following the upgrading of the status of the “State of Palestine.” Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

PA Breaches of the Oslo Accords Oct. 7 Hamas terrorists were “summarily executed” by Israel, as per Al-Haq “human rights” organization’s wild accusation PMW 6.12.23 Image Source: A Palestinian NGO pretending to fight for “human rights” – but designated in Israel as a terror organization due to its affiliation with the PFLP terror organization – has raised concerns about how the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and committed a massacre were treated by the Israelis! Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Israels Response to PA Netanyahu: Israel Rejects International Diktats on Final-status Solution With the Palestinians Haaretz 16.2.24 Image Source: Israeli Government Website In response to reports in WaPo regarding a plan to implement the two-state solution, Israel's PM says unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state would be a 'huge prize for terror' Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

IPAAR The PLO-PA-Iranian Terror Alliance Maurice Hirsch 16.4.24 Image Source: The Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, with the lights of missile interceptions visible in the night sky, after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. (Times of Israel, Social media/X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law) The silence of the Palestinian leadership in the face of the Iranian missile attack on Israel is further proof that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is again aligning itself with the enemies of Israel and the West. Original Article The silence of the Palestinian leadership in the face of the Iranian missile attack on Israel is further proof that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is again aligning itself with the enemies of Israel and the West. Even as Israel was joined by an international coalition, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Jordan, and others, to repel the attack, the Palestinian leadership chose to remain quiet. There was no condemnation of the attack that could have just as easily killed Palestinians as it could Jews. There was even no condemnation of the missiles fired toward Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. In 1991, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and attacked Israel, Yasser Arafat and the PLO cheered him on. Initially, the result was disastrous for the Palestinian cause. The PLO had reinforced its image as a terrorist organization, and Yasser Arafat became an international pariah. In the aftermath, when Kuwait was liberated, the Kuwaitis expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Then, deus ex machina, along came Ron Pundak, Yair Hirschfeld, Yossi Beilin, and their patron, Shimon Peres, to pull the terrorists from the depths of despair with their new Oslo process. The PLO was meant to renounce terror and accept Israel’s right to exist. But in truth, having been thrown a lifeline, the PLO leadership used the Oslo Accords as a means to establish a forward beachhead west of the Jordan River from which they would continue their terror attacks. Warring Sunni and Shiite Islam Unite on One Thing Within Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites have been killing each other for 1,400 years. But when it came to the destruction of Israel, even these fundamental gaps were bridged when the Shiite Ayatollahs adopted the deceptive approach of the Sunni PLO. One of the most significant expressions of that partnership was the 2002 Karine A affair, a ship full of weapons intercepted by the IDF. At the time, the PLO and the PA were at the height of the terror war initiated by Arafat after he rejected the Clinton-Barak peace deal. To wage the war, the Palestinians needed weapons. Arafat sent his long-time confidant, Fouad Shubaki, to Tehran to secure support. The Iranians donated 50 tons of weapons. All Arafat had to do was purchase the ship – the Karine A – to transport the arsenal. When IDF commandoes boarded the ship in the Red Sea, the Ramallah-Tehran connection was exposed for all to see. In 2014, the IDF intercepted yet another huge Iranian shipment of arms and two million kilograms of cement on board the Klos-C , this time destined for Hamas in Gaza. October 7 Alliance of Terror Fast forward to the October 7, 2023, massacre when Hamas terrorists from Gaza launched the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Terrorists belonging to PA Chairman’s Fatah were also involved in the October 7 attack, as shown in this screen grab from the attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Note the yellow Fatah headband. Israel responded with crushing force not only in Gaza but also against the resurgent Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria. Iran responded by activating its proxies in Lebanon (Hizbullah) and Yemen (the Houthis), attacking Israel from the north and the south. As the fighting raged on different fronts, in March 2024, the IDF intercepted yet another substantial Iranian weapons cache destined for the Fatah – i.e., PLO/PA – terrorists in Judea and Samaria. Officials affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, linked to the Quds Force in Syria, were the masterminds of the operation. Shortly after, Israel targeted and killed the IRGC Quds Force commander, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who was reportedly responsible for the unit’s operations in Syria and Lebanon. Glorifying their dead commander, a mouthpiece for the Iranian regime added that Zahedi had been involved in the planning and execution of the October 7 massacre. 1 In response to the assassination, on the evening of April 13, Iran launched an unprecedented attack, firing 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 surface-to-surface missiles at Israel. The Iranian attack put the PLO/PA in an awkward position. On the one hand, the longstanding PLO/PA/Hamas relationship with the Iranian Ayatollahs, who have devotedly supplied the terrorists with weapons and training, meant that the PLO/PA leadership would not join the international coalition fighting the Iranian axis of terror for fear of annoying their terror patrons. On the other hand, the PLO/PA is trying to prove (without any factual basis) that it has embarked on the revitalization process required by the Biden administration. While the PLO/PA wants to enjoy U.S. legitimacy, the fact of the matter is that they support the Iranian aggression. The PLO/PA, on this issue, is no different from Hamas and the other Palestinian terror groups, all of whom, like Iran, seek Israel’s destruction. As in the first Gulf War, the Iranian attack should be a watershed moment for the PLO/PA. Either the Palestinian leadership stands with the international coalition, or it stands with the axis of evil. There is no middle ground. In the same way, as the PLO/PA has never condemned the October 7 massacre, the PLO/PA’s failure to condemn the Iranian attack is not indicative of indifference but instead of real, palpable support that should carry real consequences. The writer is the Director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and served for 19 years in the IDF Military Advocate-General Corps. In his last position, he served as director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria. Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Analysis Iran's New Plan: Lost Gaza, So Take West Bank Gatestone 5.9.24 Image Source: Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images Iran’s support for Hamas in the West Bank is growing, raising concerns over the increasing influence of Iranian-backed terrorism and destabilization efforts in the region, threatening both Israel and Palestinian authority stability. Original Article The article argues that Iran is expanding its influence in the West Bank by supporting Hamas and other armed groups after losing control of Gaza. These groups, which oppose both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), aim to create a new terror front in the West Bank. Israel's recent military operations are designed to counter this threat. The article also criticizes the PA for its failure to dismantle these groups, which compromises its own authority and security. Iran’s growing influence endangers both regional stability and Palestinian governance. For more details, visit [Gatestone Institute](https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20918/iran-hamas-west-bank). Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

PA Breaches of the Oslo Accords Palestinian Officials Defend Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Remarks On Holocaust And Jews Memri TV 21.9.23 Image Source: Remarks made by PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the 11th session of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, on August 24, 2023, sparked outrage across the world. Abbas said that Hitler fought the European Jews because they engaged in usury and not out of antisemitism, adding that European Jews are not Semites but descendants of the Khazars. Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Analysis The mirage of the two-state solution The Hill 16.2.24 Image Source: JCPA Website From every corner comes pressure upon Israel to acquiesce to a two-state solution. Allegedly doing so will eliminate the main source of tension and the numerous wars between Israel and the Arabs/Palestinians since 1947. Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

IPAAR Palestinian Militias Are Resurgent in the Northern West Bank Khaled Abu Toameh, JCPA 2.5.24 Image Source: Jenin Brigade’s combined forces. (Alresalah.PS) The new Palestinian Authority government headed by Mohammed Mustafa says it is planning financial and administrative reforms in its institutions as part of a U.S. plan to “revitalize” the PA. Original Article The new Palestinian Authority government headed by Mohammed Mustafa says it is planning financial and administrative reforms in its institutions as part of a U.S. plan to “revitalize” the PA. However, since the new PA cabinet formation more than a month ago, Mustafa and his ministers have not addressed the thorny issue of the armed groups that control the streets of many Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps in the West Bank. Instead, Mustafa’s government was preoccupied with the war between Israel and Hamas. In public statements, the PA prime minister focused on the need to provide humanitarian aid and various services to the Gaza Strip, while ignoring the growing influence of armed groups in the West Bank, particularly in the areas of Nablus, Jenin, Kalkilya, and Tulkarem. Mustafa, who has long served as an economic advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, is undoubtedly uncomfortable addressing the problem of armed groups in these areas. He is well aware that he will incur the wrath of the Palestinian public if he speaks of the need to disband the armed groups and restore law and order. Most armed groups in the West Bank currently operate within the framework of “battalions” whose members belong to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and disgruntled activists from Abbas’s ruling Fatah party. Almost every town, village, and refugee camp in the northern West Bank has its own “battalion” made up of dozens of armed men. These armed men are hailed by the Palestinian public as “heroes” and “resistance fighters.” The PA and its media also glorify the gunmen, although many of them harshly criticize Abbas and his policies. Gunmen killed by Israeli security forces are regularly referred to as “martyrs” by the PA-controlled media, and in some cases, their funerals are broadcast live on Palestine TV in Ramallah. Who Controls the Palestinian Security Forces? There is another problem. Mustafa and his government have little, if any, control over some branches of the PA security forces, particularly the General Intelligence Service (GIS) and the Preventive Security Service (PSS). This is even though the PA Ministry of Interior is formally responsible for all security services, including the blue-uniformed police and the paramilitary National Security Force. The GIS and the PSS are directly subordinate to Abbas in his capacity as “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.” Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect Mustafa or his Interior Minister Ziyad Hab al-Reeh (a former commander of the PSS in the West Bank) to order a crackdown on the armed groups and individuals roaming the streets of Palestinian communities in the northern West Bank. The only person authorized to do so is 88-year-old Abbas. In recent years, however, Abbas has shown that he has no intention of ending the widespread phenomenon of armed groups operating in the areas under his control. At most, Abbas has been willing to negotiate with some of the gunmen to hand themselves over to PA security forces under the pretext that he wants to protect them from being arrested or killed by Israeli security forces. Several gunmen in Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp have agreed to do so. It is unlikely that Abbas will take action against the armed groups as long as they do not pose a direct threat to him and his security forces. The PA president is already facing a backlash from many Palestinians for failing to end security coordination between the PA security forces and Israel. In the eyes of these Palestinians, he is nothing more than a “subcontractor” to the Israeli security apparatus. This is another reason Abbas is reluctant to order his security forces to rein in the gunmen. Although Israeli security forces have killed dozens of gunmen since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Palestinian security sources estimate that there are still between 3,000 and 3,500 militiamen in the northern West Bank. According to the sources, the Tulkarem Battalion alone has more than 200 gunmen. Most of them are located in the Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps. The Tulkarem Battalion is led by Mohammed Jaber, nicknamed Abu Shuja (“father of courage”). Last month, PA security officers tried unsuccessfully to arrest Jaber when they intercepted his car in the center of Tulkarem. One of his bodyguards was fatally shot by the officers during the botched arrest attempt. The incident was strongly condemned by many Palestinians, who accused the PA security forces of acting on Israel’s behalf to eliminate Abu Shuja and the Tulkarem Battalion. Abu Shuja is wanted by Israel for his role in a series of terrorist attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Tulkarem area. Members of the Jenin Battalion have also clashed with PA security officers on several occasions. They even carried out several shooting attacks against the headquarters of the PA security forces in Jenin. On May 1, 2024, Omar Abu al-Ful, a senior member of the Tulkarem Battalion, was shot and killed by PA security officers. A spokesperson for the PA security forces said the officers responded after coming under fire. After the incident, local gunmen took to the streets to protest the killing, while Hamas and PIJ strongly condemned the PA over the incident. Abu Shuja and his gang are now considered the largest and most dangerous militia in the northern West Bank. Palestinian officials believe that Iran funds him and his men through Hamas and the PIJ. The officials expressed fears that members of the Tulkarem Battalion may attempt to carry out an October 7-style attack against Israeli communities located just a few hundred meters from Tulkarem. Abu Shuja and his men have already carried out several shooting attacks against these communities from Tulkarem. Similarly, gunmen in the Jenin area have also attacked Israeli communities near the Jenin border. The U.S. plan to “revitalize” the PA should focus first and foremost on enforcing law and order in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. This is more important and urgent than financial and administrative reforms. Otherwise, the Palestinian Authority will continue to lose its control over these areas, posing a security threat not only to the Palestinian Authority but also to Israel. Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Global Response Two-state solution can be drawn up without Israel at the table, says EU diplomat The Telegraph 22.1.24 Image Source: Wix Library A plan prepared by Brussels' foreign affairs arm states it is the responsibility of ‘outside actors’ to press ahead with peace talks Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More

Global Response U.S. Inaction Enables Palestinian Authority's 'Pay-for-Slay' Policy BNN 12.2.24 Image Source: IDF website The Palestinian Authority continues to reward terrorists through its 'pay-for-slay' policy, violating the Taylor Force Act and jeopardizing peace efforts. Despite U.S. aid contingencies, the P.A. remains steadfast, and the U.S. Department of State has not enforced the TFA, setting a dangerous precedent. Original Article Latest Understanding Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor Read More Palestinian Authority insult: “The white and racist majority” elected Trump Read More Palestinian Authority teaches kids to admire suicide bomber who murdered 21 Read More Read More