Day 161 of the Israel-Hamas Gaza War
1. Relations Between President Biden and PM Netanyahu Reached Another Critical Point
In an interview with MSNBC President Biden said that PM Netanyahu causes more harm than benefit to Israel. He added that he has the right to defend Israel but not at the cost of 30,000 Palestinian casualties in Gaza. President Biden said that a military operation in the southern city Rafah will be crossing a red line, and the US will not support such an operation.
President Biden decided that the US will supply humanitarian aid directly to Gaza, not through Israel. One of the operational decisions is to built a temporary harbor on the Gazan beach that will be able to deliver shipments of food and medical supplies directly to the citizens in the northern Gaza Strip. The US has also airdropped supplies. This is bypassing the Israeli administration. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing rapidly, there is hunger everywhere and people have no access to fresh food, fresh water and medical services. Israel has failed to meet the basic needs of the Gazan people, and some western countries are rallying to provide aid.
Earlier this week VP Kamala Harris said in a public speech that the US needs to distinguish between PM Netanyahu and the people of Israel. She also emphasized the gap between PM Netanyahu’s policy and the interests of the people in Israel.
PM Netanyahu hurried to give interviews to foreign media in which he rejected President Biden’s criticism and said that he has vast support among Israelis. Some analysts rejected this claim, pointing out the results of polls showing a drop in support for Netanyahu and his Likud party.
On Thursday, US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel, saying that PM Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace. Israeli sources hurried to denounce Schumer, saying that Israel is a sovereign state and it can take its’ own decisions.
2. Israel Claims to Assassinate One of the Top Hamas Leaders
Israeli military forces may have killed Marwan Issa, who is considered one of the senior Hamas military leaders in Gaza. Issa is considered to be the head of the operational actions of the Islamic organization. He was in charge of executing the plans against Israel.
Israel defined victory as eliminating Hamas’ ability to operate. That includes killing all Hamas senior operational system and leaders. Some of the top leaders served years in Israeli prisons, after they were convicted of terrorist attacks that killed many people. They were then released in a deal in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped in 2006 by Hamas, held in Gaza for five years and four months, until his release. The deal included the release of 1,027 Palestinians with blood on their hands who were convicted of many murders. The deal released many members of Hamas, who had committed terrorist attacks in Israel. Among those Palestinian prisoners released was the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yehye Sinwar. PM Netanyahu was in office when this deal took place, and he is often accused of building Hamas.
PM Netanyahu is also responsible for the doctrine that if Israel strengthened Hamas, allowing the organization to receive millions of dollars, it would help Israel weaken the Palestinian Authority and kill support for the two state solution option. Israeli forces are searching for Sinwar, and they assume that he is hiding in an operational tunnel below the southern city Rafah.
Meanwhile, in the chaos of war, with approval from Israel, the German ambassador to Israel executed a complicated operation to take 68 Palestinian orphans from Gaza to Bethlehem in the West Bank. Many in the right-wing camp in Israel criticized Israel’s consent for the move, since in general Israel bans Palestinians living in Gaza from moving, relocating, or even visiting the West Bank despite any connections, family or otherwise that they may have with West Bank residents.
3. Growing Tension As the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan Begins:
There is growing tension in Jerusalem in particular and in the West Bank in general, after the holy month of Ramadan began on Monday. Israeli security intelligence and forces worry that Hamas from Gaza will try to inflame the situation and encourage Palestinians from the West Bank to execute terror operations. There is also some fear that the already violent reality will influence the thousands of Palestinians who make pilgrimage to the Al Aqsa mosque in the old city of Jerusalem, the second most holy site for Muslims, after Mecca in Saudi Arabia , to act violently and that may create another front for military clashes.
The Israeli cabinet discussed an option to place restrictions based on age or numbers to those that can enter the site, and impose those restrictions on Israeli Muslims as well. Minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the most right-wing extreme member of the cabinet strongly expressed the desire to impose more severe restrictions. Fearing that Ben Gvir, who is in charge of the police, will only make things worse, PM Netanyahu took some decision making from him, and decided that the police will enter and operate in the holy Muslim site only under his command, and not Ben Gvir’s.
4. Israeli Society is Divided On the Question of the Draft - Equality Call
Thousands protested on Thursday evening in Tel Aviv, calling for equality of the draft. The question of the push for equality, in terms of conscription to the army is getting to another tipping point. Israel has a mandatory draft for men and women alike. At the age of eighteen, everyone who is physically and mentally fit is liable for conscription to the army. Traditionally, the Arab minority, about 21% of the population, are exempt from conscription, because all enemies of Israel are Arab countries. At the establishment of the state, back in 1948, Ben Gurion, the founding father and the first PM, agreed to exempt a few hundred Yeshiva students, and allow them to continue their biblical studies. But the years went by and now there are more than 60,000 male Yeshiva students between the ages of 18 and 24 who are exempt from the draft. These young adults are not only released from three years of service, but they also get a monthly living allowance from the state. This arrangement is a part of the political pressure from creating the coalition, since the Haredi community have political representatives in the government and this arrangement with the draft is part of a coalition agreement. Every now and then there is a cry and a demand from the secular serving camps to draft the Haredi, so the burden will be equally divided. Many appeals to the High Court of Justice have been filed, but the problem has not been solved as yet. Now it became extremely relevant, due to the fact that post October 7th, the war took a heavy toll and many served in the reserves for three months and more, while people from the Haredi community were excluded from that burden. The deadline for the government to act is now April 1st. That would be the date on which the state will no longer be able to pay allowances to Yeshiva students who are not drafted. Earlier this week, the states Chief Rabbi threatened that if Haredi student are forced to be drafte, they will all leave and emigrate.
5. Israel Will Participate in the European Song Contest, The Eurovision
After some negotiation with the management of the European song contest, The Eurovision, Israel agreed to change the song that was initially chosen to represent Israel and send another song, Hurricane, as their entry.
The first song, that was sent to the contest was rejected and disqualified because, according to the Eurovision management, it included some political phrases referring to October 7th. In the current international negative climate against Israel, resulting from the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the rising number of civilian casualties there, Israel is taking all diplomatic measures to strengthen its’ international reputation. As a result, even Israeli President, Herzog, made an effort for an Israeli song to be chosen so that Israel will not be disqualified. Israel then decided to send another, more neutral song. The contest will take place in Malmo, Sweden in May this year. Israel has won the contest several times in the past. It is less likely to happen this year.
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The notion that the United Nations is unwilling to support a resolution that conditions any ceasefire on the release of Israeli hostages tells you all you need to know. A majority of the membership, together with rogue states on the Security Council, are intent on strengthening Hamas’ hand. A critical mass of the membership wishes to give Hamas a pass October 7th. These are the same folks who accept without question the unverified reports of civilian casualties by the so-called “Gaza Health Ministry,” while simultaneously casting doubt publicly on the objective proof of the Hamas atrocities on October 7th. The longstanding role of UNWRA in fomenting hatred for Israel and its documented role in October 7th is yet another feather-in-the-cap of the UN that informs the true state of this once-promising body. The United Nations has forfeited any moral legitimacy, which is precisely why no country any longer takes it seriously.