RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21310/palestinian-statehood-denied

Israel agreed to Palestinian statehood in 1937-1938, 1947-1948, 1967, 2000-2001, and 2007. In each case, it was the Palestinian leadership that refused to agree to the two-state solution….

The Jews accepted the [1937] Peel partition plan, while the Arabs categorically rejected it, demanding that all of Palestine be placed under Arab control and that most of the Jewish population of Palestine be “transferred” — ethnically cleansed — out of the country…

The Jewish leadership [in 1948] declared statehood in the area allocated to it by the UN. The Arab leadership responded by declaring a genocidal war against the new state of the Jewish people. They did not want a Palestinian state. And they wanted there to be no Jewish state.

No one, therefore, should believe that it was Israel that has made the Palestinian people stateless. It was the Palestinians themselves… The current anti-Israel protesters in the West are not calling for a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. They, like the failed Palestinian leadership, just wants to end Israel’s existence. It is not going to happen. Until the Palestinians recognize this reality, they will be denying themselves any possibility of statehood.

One of the most pervasive myths of the Palestinian protest movement is that Israel has denied statehood to the Palestinian people. To the contrary, Israel agreed to Palestinian statehood in 1937-1938, 1947-1948, 1967, 2000-2001, and 2007. In each case, it was the Palestinian leadership that refused to agree to the two-state solution that would have created a Palestinian state, alongside a state for Jewish inhabitants.

In 1937 – in the midst of the terrorist revolt inspired by Adolf Hitler’s ally, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem – the British published the Palestine Royal Commission Report (also known as the Peel Commission Report).

https://www.frontpagemag.com/idf-closes-down-kamal-adwan-hospital/

The reports about the IDF’s operation to capture the several hundred Hamas combatants hiding out in Kamal Adwan Hospital — “the last hospital in northern Gaza,” is how it is now formulaically described — make the IDF out to be villainous, indifferent to the wellbeing of innocent patients and medical personnel. The truth is quite different.

The media will report this: “The IDF has attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last working hospital in northern Gaza. The patients and medical personnel have been forced to evacuate. The Israelis have set fire to the hospital. The IDF claims that Hamas fighters were inside the hospital, hiding both themselves and their weapons. Hamas flatly denies using the Kamal Adwan Hospital.” The real story can be found here: “IDF completes raid on north Gaza hospital, says some 240 terror suspects arrested,” by Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel, December 28, 2024:

The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had completed an operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital and the surrounding area.

Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces, which last operated against Hamas at Kamal Adwan in October, said the operation was launched because the hospital had “once again become a key stronghold for terrorist organizations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorist operatives.”

The army said the hospital was still used by Hamas “despite repeated calls to refrain from allowing [terror operatives] to exploit hospitals for military activities.”

The operation was led by the IDF’s 162nd Division. At the start of the raid, the IDF said troops of the 401st Armored Brigade surrounded the hospital, detained several terror operatives, and killed additional gunmen.

Members of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit then carried out “precise activities” inside the hospital, during which they located and captured weapons, including grenades, handguns, ammunition, and other military equipment, according to the IDF.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21296/trump-hostages-hell-to-pay

President-elect Donald J. Trump has warned that unless the hostages being held by Hamas are released by January 20, the day of his inauguration, “all hell will break out.”

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is already in Doha, Qatar, negotiating. Not very astonishingly, the negotiations keep breaking down….

The question arises: why is Witkoff in Qatar negotiating? Negotiating for what? How many dead hostages for how many live Palestinian terrorists now in Israeli prisons?

Why is Trump’s statement, “there will be all hell to pay,” not, by itself, the negotiation? It seems that all Witkoff would need to do is detail every name, alive or dead; the date, time and drop-off point for all the hostages, and then go home. No Palestinian prisoners released to resume a career in terrorism; no pallets of cash going to government leaders who commit war crimes — just, “You took them, you have them; if even one hostage is missing or has so much as a scratch, ‘it will not be good for Hamas.'”

Why is the US degrading its prestige by even trying to negotiate with terrorists? Instead of negotiating, Hamas and its patron, Qatar, should be feeding the hostages, attending to their medical needs and preparing them to come home. Now, how would that be for “The Art of the Deal”?

Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.

https://www.jns.org/yoav-gallants-exit-stage-left/

Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant’s resignation from the Knesset, which he tendered on Jan. 1, became official at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. Despite pressure from retired defense officials-turned-talking heads that he reverse his decision, Gallant—whom Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu finally fired from his Cabinet post in early November—remained steadfast.

In a press conference Wednesday evening to announce the move, however, he indicated that he’d be returning to the political arena in the future. Given his simultaneous declaration of loyalty to Likud principles and harsh critique of its chairman, he seemed to be hinting at a plan to beat Bibi in the party’s next primary race.

If that’s what he’s thinking, he needs to have his head examined. Given his behavior since the government was sworn in at the end of 2022, he’d be lucky at this point to garner enough support among Likud voters to obtain a realistic spot on the party’s list for the 26th Knesset, let alone rise to the top of the heap.

So a comeback on his part is probably going to involve forming or joining a different faction that describes itself as part of the “center” or “center-right,” yet resides on the left side of the electoral-poll pie chart with the rest of the “anybody but Bibi” crowd.

Another possibility is that the warm embrace he received by oppositionists and the protest movement will grow chilly once he’s no longer of use to them as a tool to weaken or oust Netanyahu through the crumbling of the coalition.

In such an event, Gallant may find himself in the same boat as many of his colleagues with illustrious careers in the Israel Defense Forces: settling for a highly paid gig at a politically correct think tank.

It’s just as well. For the past two years, Gallant has exhibited a greater allegiance to the elitist “old boys’ network” of the IDF top brass than to the government he was appointed to represent.

https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/israel-zionism/2025/01/whats-wrong-with-the-postmodern-military/

The October 7 attack from Gaza was not supposed to have been possible. Israelis were continuously assured by the security establishment and political leaders that Hamas was “deterred,” that Israel has an ample, sophisticated defense mechanism, and that its intelligence capabilities were second to none. And so, Israelis had to endure two shocks on that Simchat Torah morning: the large-scale surprise attack itself, which the IDF failed to avert, and the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians.

Then came a third shock, which might surprise those who rely on English-language news from Israel’s advocates abroad, its political leaders, or the IDF’s own spokespeople: the Israeli high command required weeks to formulate plans and prepare for an operation in Gaza. Even worse, within weeks of the ground operation’s commencement, it became evident that the initial strategy was flawed, poorly planned, and exposed a staggering number of failures in preparation, training, force buildup, equipment, munitions, and execution. Although Israeli society has sprung into action to help deal with logistical problems, it became clear that the IDF was in a dire condition. To this day, a year and three months after the attack, despite numerous tactical successes and an enormous national investment in the war, both Hamas and Hizballah have managed to avoid total defeat, and despite the accomplishments of Israel’s soldiers the IDF has failed to secure total victory.

It goes without saying that Israel has an exceptional national army. Its soldiers’ fighting spirit is second to none, their bravery and commitment are likely unparalleled in the West today. But tactics and bravery alone are not enough. The strategic capabilities of the high command are essential to give shape and direction to successful military campaigns. Therefore, my aim in this essay is to examine what I believe to be the most critical aspect of the reality revealed on and after October 7: the military doctrines and national-security mindset that have led to the decades-long deterioration of the IDF’s capabilities.

To do so, I will briefly turn to the U.S. and outline two successive transformations in Western military thinking. Admittedly, this depiction will be painted in very broad strokes, but despite exceptions and counterexamples, the trend it highlights—the marginalization of classical military and operational art—is very real and increasingly troubling. I will then shift focus to Israel to examine how it has navigated these two transformative waves of strategic thinking.

How the Cold War Upended Military Thought

From the beginning of recorded history until the Second World War, national-security doctrines relied on the operational capabilities of a strong, well-trained fighting force led by a professional high command. Generals were entrusted with the responsibility of winning wars, and warfare was regarded as a specialized art and vocation. Those who excelled in defeating enemy forces rose through the ranks to become military leaders.

Military professionalism was cultivated through two key endeavors. The first was experience, gained in active combat during wartime and through rigorous training during peacetime. The second was military studies. Most great strategists were ardent students of war. They identified something constant in war, an essence that transcended time, which helped would-be generals sharpen their intellectual and vocational abilities, adopt new technologies, develop new tactics and strategies, and adapt to changing threats. Thus, military history and theory were regarded as fundamental pillars of their expertise.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21269/pro-palestinian-protestors

Is there a free media in “Palestine?” No. Is there a functioning parliament? No. Are there general elections? No. Are there no consequences for protesting against the leaders’ abuses?

The “pro-Palestinian” activists just keep showing that all they have to offer is hatred for Jews and Israel. The real “pro-Palestinian” advocates are those who want to see a good life for the Palestinians, not those who encourage them to embrace a brutal and corrupt Hamas. Would they encourage the Iranian people to submit to the Ayatollahs, or the Uyghurs to embrace the Communist Chinese Party?

Instead of sitting in a comfortable campus where no one will arrest, torture or kill them for speaking out, these activists should be urging Hamas to release the 100 Israeli hostages it has been holding in the Gaza Strip since the atrocities of October 7, 2023. That would be the best and fastest way to end the current war in the Gaza Strip. The real message is: if you do not want your people killed, do not start a war.

If these protestors in the West really want to help Palestinians, instead of offering messages of hate, they could offer good salaries and jobs.

Sadly, “pro-Palestinian” protests have shown themselves to be nothing more than a backdoor way of spreading hate, delegitimizing Israel and demonizing Jews.

The organizers and leaders of the anti-Israel protests in the US and Canada, including on university campuses, continue to ignore the real suffering of the Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and the Iran-backed Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

These Palestinians are living under two corrupt dictatorships, both of which place the interests of their leaders above those of the people.

We never hear the voices of these protesters when the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas commit human rights violations against their own citizens.