Sanchez condemns 'indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians' in Palestine | Jordan Times |

The Israeli foreign ministry swiftly summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium for a "harsh rebuke" over comments by the two countries' leaders, accusing them of supporting "terrorism".

"Condemning the vile terrorist attacks of a terrorist group like Hamas and at the same condemning the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza, is not a question of political parties nor of ideology, it is a question of being humane," Sanchez told a gathering of his Socialist Party in Madrid to applause from the audience.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public television on Friday he had called in the Israeli ambassador to lodge a formal protest against the Israeli government's allegations.

To What Extent Does Hamas Represent the Palestinians? | JCPA - 6 Nov. 2023 |

Jerusalem Center expert Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of the Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence

We hear repeatedly from Western leaders including President Biden himself that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. I beg to differ. There's a big part of the Palestinian people that consider Hamas their representative, not only in the Gaza street but even in Judea and Samaria. Hamas represents a very important part of the Palestinian people, something to bear in mind when we speak of "the day after" the war. On the ground, many Gazan civilians followed Hamas operatives into Israel to loot and murder, while in the streets of Gaza the attacks were celebrated.

On Arabic Social Media, the October 7 Massacre Was Seen as an Historic Victory for Islam

As evident on Arabic social media, the October 7 massacre was seen as an historic victory for Islam. For years, both nationalistic, "secular" Fatah and Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist Hamas have used similar Quran-based, anti-Jewish rhetoric. Hamas' late religious leader, Sheikh Yousef Kardawi, encouraged terrorist acts against Jews in Israel, such as suicide bombings. Hatred for Israel and the Jews has kept Hamas popular despite its corruption and oppression of its citizens.

Both Hamas and Fatah share the same narrative: the denial of a Jewish identity and an opposition to Zionism - Jewish sovereignty in nation-state form. They see Jews negatively and hope to replace Israel entirely. Hamas' aggressive, Islamist interpretation of Islam glorifies murder and cruelty towards those it considers enemies of Islam.

Concurrently with this aggressive rhetoric, Hamas and the PA market a component of Palestinian victimhood that demonizes Israelis to both their public and to the West.

Willful Blindness on the Part of the West

On their part, the West and the international community share a willful blindness in recognizing that Hamas represents a large part of the Palestinian population, and that Fatah's ideology is similar to that of Hamas. Admitting this would mean the West must accept Israel's claims about the difficulty of making peace with the Palestinians. The West prefers to believe that the defeat of Hamas will meet a cooperative population that would welcome a moderate leadership.

Who are the potential future Palestinian leaders after the IDF operation and after Mahmoud Abbas? The candidates are not promising. The once important PLO leader Muhammad Dahlan, originally from Gaza, now living in Abu Dhabi, is virulently anti-Israel, much like his corrupt and duplicitous mentor, Yasir Arafat. Salam Fayad is another leadership option, but is considered too weak to prevent terror in Gaza. Both are committed to the anti-Israel narrative.

Will other Arabs intervene? It is unlikely that the Gulf will intervene politically but they probably will assist Gaza economically. On their side, the PA said through Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayeh that the PLO is not interested in returning to Gaza unless it means the establishment of a permanent Palestinian state, an upgrade in the international community.

The BBC reporter kept the Israeli spokesperson on a short leash ... well done ... Kuperwasser didn't succeed to get his biased view and a free ride on the IDF war narrative ... war crimes and abuse of human rights.

Have a peaceful cultural summer

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - Is Israeli and American Disagreement Inevitable?

Timeline: The 2021 Gaza War Followed a Long Record of Hamas-Initiated Attacks | JCPA - 4 July 2021 |

The May 10-21, 2021, Hamas-Israel hostilities did not erupt out of nowhere. They followed a long record of Hamas-initiated attacks, clashes, developments in internal Palestinian politics, rearmament, and Iranian incitement since the 2014 ceasefire. Hamas and its defenders claim the massive Hamas rocket barrages came as an answer to relatively minor events on the ground in Jerusalem.

The following illustrated timeline identifies seminal events related to Gaza since the 2014 ceasefire, including Hamas-Islamic Jihad-Iran activity, Hamas threats and attacks, and important events during the 11-day fighting.

The war in Gaza has been an intense lesson in western hypocrisy. It won't be forgotten | Nesrine Malik [_link]

— francesca mannocchi (@mannocchia) November 27, 2023

Did Israeli PM Netanyahu start Bombing Gaza Again to Stay out of Jail and Appease Fascists in his Cabinet? | Juan Cole - 2 Dec. 2023 |

Biden did not tell us, and nor did the sorry excuse for "news" in the US that the "pause" was voted against by the Jewish Power faction in the Israeli cabinet and that the exchange of Hamas hostages for Israeli ones was viscerally opposed by that bloc as well as across the board on the powerful Israeli far right because violent Israeli squatters in the Palestinian West Bank feared the release of "terrorists" who would return to their homes and pose a threat to the invading squatters [h/t BBC News]. Since Israel only agreed to release women and minors, those Israeli squatters must be real snowflakes.

Jewish Power leader and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir branded the released Palestinians "terrorists," and attacked Netanyahu for agreeing to their release. Ben Gvir has been convicted of support of a terrorist organization and of racist incitement in the past and his party was on the US State Department terrorism watch list. So I guess, you know, he fancies himself an expert on who is a terrorist.

"Anything but 'great friendship'": Outrage in the settlement illegal occupied Palestinian territory after the report on America's demand that M16 rifles not reach the drives in Joch | Israel Hayom |

"The American demand not to provide weapons to the alert squads of the Judea and Samaria West Bank authorities is anything but 'great friendship,'" Yesha Council Chairman Shlomo Ne'eman said in response to a promise not to transfer M16 rifles to the alert squads in the settlement.

"Over half a million residents of Judea and Samaria West Bank face daily terrorist attacks by resistance fighters, and only last Thursday we lost Elhanan Klein in a shooting attack.

"Blood libel by B'Tselem and Yesh Din"

Judea and Samaria West Bank notes that the culprits for the erroneous image, they claim, of the settlers are left-wing organizations operating in the region and reporting to bodies abroad. "At a time when our best sons are fighting in Gaza, we are subjected to vicious attacks of blood libels against our residents by extreme left-wing organizations such as B'Tselem and Yesh Din. Instead of an airlift equipping the alert squads to defend against enemy attack, we are denied the right to defend ourselves and our children. This false and irresponsible campaign, God forbid, will cost blood."

"They won't differentiate between blood and blood here"

Samaria Council head Yossi Dagan also addressed the report. "Someone here got confused," Dagan said. "The residents of Judea and Samaria West Bank are in immense danger. The fear is that what happened in the south will happen in Judea and Samaria communities adjacent to the Palestinian villages of the terrorist Palestinian Authority."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir next to weapons distributed in Ashkelon, photo: Reuters

"We must not surrender to a campaign that slanders half a million citizens of the State of Israel. At a time when 80% of the men in Judea and Samaria West Bank are enlisted and entire families are left alone, in concern for the father of the family, they need to hear and see the leaders of this country encouraging the blood libel campaign that blackens the settlers instead of denying it. I demand that the prime minister now inform the Americans that weapons will be given to all soldiers, including those living in Judea and Samaria West Bank. They will not differentiate between blood and blood here."

The "Martial Doctrine" organization said in response, "If the report is true, it is a national disgrace, and a knife in the back in wartime. It turns out that the anti-Semitic campaign of 'settler violence,' which is intended entirely to cover up the Nazi Arabs who support Hamas in the heart of our country, is reaching a stage: the stage of surrendering to anti-Semitic elements in the US administration."

• Kahane: JDL Thugs As His Legacy | 5 March 2020 |
• Rightwing Kahane Member to Enter Knesset | 24 March 2021 |
• Days of Kahane Terror Returns | 13 May 2021 |