Israel-Hamas Thread II

Benaiah468 said:

The British BBC reported:

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BBC

Committee for the Protection of Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg told the BBC there was no justification for Sharif's killing.

"International law is very clear on this point that the only individuals who are legitimate targets during a war are active combatants. Having worked as a media advisor for Hamas, or indeed for Hamas currently, does not make you an active combatant", she said.

"And nothing that the Israeli forces has produced so far in terms of evidence gives us any kind of assurance that he was even an active member of Hamas."

Israel has long since provided clarification! The alleged Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif was not an innocent journalist, but a member of Hamas.

He received a salary from Hamas.

He was assigned a personnel number.

He was part of a Hamas rocket battalion as a "sideline".

There are numerous selfies of him with Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of the Oct 7 attacks, in a clear pose. Fittingly, Anas al-Sharif wrote about his Hamas colleagues on Oct 7:

"...the heroes are still roaming the land, killing and taking prisoners..."

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So about that day when his Hamas colleagues sadistically murdered innocent Israeli babies and children. The evidence is overwhelming. Nevertheless, it is pretended that Israel is executing innocent people for no reason whatsoever.

It has to be said so clearly: the case of Anas al-Sharif stands pars pro toto for the false reporting of many Western media and the negligently false statements of western governments on the war in Gaza.

Evidence of Al-Sharif's connections to terror

The level of disinformation, consciously or unconsciously, of reporting that incites hatred against Israel has long since reached its limit. It is scandalous.

It is the job as journalists to report what is happening. The majority of them have long since stopped doing this.

I suppose for his "martyrdom", a generous reward from Hamas and Al Jazeera will now surely flow to his family.

By the way: International law....? Hamas sends its regards. There is no legitimate "right of resistance" that justifies hostage-taking, torture, and systematic disregard for international law.

Perhaps it would be time for a change, instead of constantly demonizing Israel counterfactually, to exert maximum political pressure on Hamas. So that this war ends very quickly, the Israeli hostages in Gaza are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian civilians in Gaza are finally freed from Hamas.

Only a fraction of the aid deliveries reach the people in Gaza and this sheds a completely different light on the alleged plight than the UN and many international media outlets have previously portrayed. While the world focuses on Israel's alleged refusal to provide aid, a shocking report reveals that 86 percent of the aid supplies disappear en route.

Who benefits from this?

And what does this mean for the suffering of the local population?

The United Nations has been forced to admit that of the approximately 30,000 pallets of aid that were supposed to reach the Gaza Strip since May, only about 4,000 actually reach those in need. Food, medical supplies, fuel; everything is intercepted.

By whom?

The UN relief agency UNRWA cites "armed groups" who are using force to divert these goods and also speaks of desperate, starving civilians who are caught up in this chaos. A system that, far from alleviating the plight of the people in Gaza, dramatically exacerbates it.

The tragedy is obvious: Hamas, which controls Gaza, is turning humanitarian aid into a source of income. By blocking or selling food parcels, it creates artificial scarcity and keeps the population dependent. International Gaza aid, intended to save lives, is thus becoming a lever of control and power. Those truly hungry often have no access because the organization dictates distribution according to its own rules. Hamas even prohibits the receipt of aid shipments from the American foundation GHF because they jeopardize its income.

At the same time, aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders accuse Israel of using violence to respond to crowds desperately scrambling for aid. Israel vehemently denies these accusations, stating that its soldiers only fire when threats are identified or as a deterrent. The picture that emerges is one of a brutal spiral: a government that doesn't block aid but provides security, while a terrorist organization exploits the need and uses its own citizens as a human shield.

This situation calls into question not only humanitarian aid, but also international media coverage. The UN has repeatedly blamed Israel for an alleged famine in Gaza, even though Israel does not restrict the import of aid. The alarming figures show that the real problem is the embezzlement and misuse of aid by Hamas, not the import itself.

In this reality, the question of blame shifts radically. Hamas, not Israel, bears the primary responsibility for the suffering of the people in Gaza. The political instrumentalization of aid deliveries as a weapon against its own population highlights how complex and entrenched the conflict is and how difficult it is to achieve genuine humanitarian progress when the organization that decides over life and death is itself part of the problem.

Calls for an "independent, UN-led humanitarian mechanism" may be well-intentioned, but as long as Hamas is in charge on the ground, this idea remains a farce. Israel allows aid to arrive, controls access, and enables organizations not infiltrated by terrorists to operate. The challenge lies in finding ways to actually deliver this aid to the people who need it, rather than to a criminal organization.

These findings cast a bitter shadow over the seemingly clear attribution of blame to Israel and force us to look at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from a new, honest perspective. Without this clarity, the hope for real aid remains merely an illusion for the people who struggle to survive every day.

How unscrupulous can terror be when it even misuses humanitarian organizations to deceive people and conceal its own murderous goal?



A recent airstrike by the Israeli Air Force in Gaza has made exactly that visible: five armed terrorists posing as employees of an international aid organization were deliberately eliminated.

These fighters had deliberately appropriated a car with the logo of the "World Central Kitchen" (WCK), a globally known humanitarian food aid organization. They stuck the emblem on their vehicle and wore yellow vests to give the impression that they were aid workers. Their aim was clear: to hide behind the neutral protection of aid organizations in order to evade Israeli attacks.

The Israeli Defense Forces saw through the attempt at deception. In a precise air strike, the terrorists were eliminated near the village of
Dir al-Balah. The operation underscores the tireless vigilance of the Israeli forces, which, despite all efforts to cooperate with humanitarian organizations, do not compromise on security.

The "World Central Kitchen" confirmed to Israeli authorities that the vehicle in Gaza has no connection to its actual work. The
"coordination mechanism" in the territories (Cogat) works closely with international aid organizations to prevent precisely such abuses.

This incident shows how unscrupulous the terrorist organization Hamas and its allies are: They put their own population at risk, misuse aid to deceive and protect their fighters and thus endanger not only Israelis, but also the civilian population in Gaza, which is dependent on humanitarian support.

For Israel, one thing is clear: cooperation with legitimate aid organizations remains indispensable, but the fight against terror remains uncompromising. The responsibility that the country bears for its citizens makes every attack on terrorists necessary, regardless of how they disguise themselves.

In a world where the lines between helpers and perpetrators are blurred, an unwavering determination against terror is needed and the clear realization that the well-being of the civilian population must never be misused as a cover for murder and violence.

The largest anti-Israel flotilla in years is forming under the guise of "humanitarian aid". Greta Thunberg, Susan Sarandon and activists from 44 countries set course for Gaza, not to help, but to strengthen Hamas politically and propagandistically.

On Aug 31, an armada of small and medium-sized ships will set sail from Spain. Further boats from Tunisia will join them on Sep 4. On board: the self-proclaimed climate icon Greta Thunberg, Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon and an international selection of radical anti-Israeli activists. Their declared goal: to break Israel's "blockade ring" around Gaza. Their real goal: to give Hamas the biggest international PR show in years.

The narrative is old and transparent: portray Israel as the "besiegers", project the suffering in Gaza one-sidedly onto the Jewish state and completely ignore reality in the process. Not a word about the fact that Hamas has expanded Gaza into a military base since taking power in 2007, invested billions in arms smuggling and tunnels and repeatedly launched wars against Israel. Instead, Thunberg and Sarandon use the propaganda formulas of the terror regime, which they supposedly support in a "humanitarian" way.

The organizers speak of the "largest solidarity action in 18 years" and claim that Israel has brought "destruction like eight atomic bombs" on Gaza, a grotesque, fictitious number whose sole purpose is to demonize Israel. This language is not neutral, it is part of the ideological warfare against the Jewish state.

Anyone who boards these ships knows full well that they are strengthening Hamas, not just symbolically, but in concrete terms. Every camera shot, every social media post, every picture of an Israeli interception is exploited in Gaza and on the world's anti-Israel channels. It is not an aid mission, it is a deliberately planned provocation designed to challenge Israel's security measures and reverse international perceptions: Perpetrators as victims, terrorists as "resistance fighters".

The drama is repeating itself: back in Jun, the British ship "Madeleine" with twelve activists was stopped by the Israeli navy. The images showed how Israeli soldiers provided the crew with water and sandwiches, no violence, no "sea massacre". But this reality did not fit into the script of Hamas supporters, and so it quickly disappeared from the headlines.

In reality, there have long been functioning humanitarian corridors to Gaza. Those who really want to help use them. Anyone who travels to Gaza in a boat to be filmed during an interception operation, on the other hand, is making a conscious decision for a political mission in the service of Hamas.

Greta Thunberg and Susan Sarandon will not be looking after the hungry in Gaza. They will not be helping in schools or providing medical aid. Their trip is not an aid mission, it is part of an international PR campaign to support an Islamist terrorist organization that does not want peace negotiations, but the destruction of Israel. And that is what it should be called.

A regime that presents itself as a strategic superpower publishes a "death list" against Israel's leadership and already fails because of the names.

While the propaganda is running in Tehran, survivors and soldiers in Israel remember a truth that is not welcome in Iran: When Israel strikes, there is little left of the big talk.

The regime in Tehran, which is still feeling its own wounds after the lost war against Israel, had a list of top Israeli politicians and generals "earmarked for liquidation" circulated via a media outlet close to the regime. Foreign Minister Israel Katz published the document on X and immediately put his finger on the problem: wrong titles, outdated posts, misspelled names. In a country that doesn't even know the correct commander of the Israeli police, the world is supposed to see a serious threat?



On the list: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defamed by the mullahs as a "criminal against humanity". Katz himself, called "terror minister" by the authors. Kobi Shabtai is still listed as police chief, long since replaced by Dani Levi. Air force chief Tomer Bar is called "Tamar Bar". The southern military commander Yaniv Asor is dubbed "Yaniu Asor", the central commander Avi Blot is an "enemy of humanity" for Tehran.

Katz used the opportunity to send a message that should hit Khamenei directly:

"My advice to the Iranian dictator Khamenei: when he comes out of the bunker, he should look up to the sky more often and pay attention to every buzz. The participants in the ‘Red Wedding’ are waiting for him there."

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The allusion is clear: "Red Wedding" was the name of the Israeli first-strike operation in the recent war with Iran, an unprecedented attack that wiped out the entire generalship of the Iranian armed forces. Reminiscent of the infamous massacre scene from "Game of Thrones", Israel struck the top leadership of the Revolutionary Guards, the top brass of the Iranian military and key figures in nuclear research in a single day. Hussein Salami, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed, as were Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, his deputy Gholam-Ali Rashid and several air and missile commanders.

More than a dozen leading nuclear scientists died in the strike, people who had worked for years on the core of Iran's nuclear program. Israel's intelligence services and air force had not only selected the target, but also struck at a time of perfect vulnerability. The message was unmistakable: anyone who poses an existential threat to Israel will pay immediately and definitively.

And yet: Iran's political top, Khamenei himself, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, remained untouched. Not because Israel could not, but because Donald Trump, the incumbent US president, reportedly did not agree to a targeted strike against the Supreme Leader. A strategic calculation that was probably interpreted in Iran as a last resort.

Today, months after this smashing, the mullahs are using lists that look more like a bad joke. For Israel, such threats have long been debunked, but Katz's warning is not an empty phrase. In a Middle East where drones can be in the sky at any time, "looking up" is not a metaphor, but a survival strategy.

Staged images from Gaza dominate the headlines, while real hostages lie dying. In Estonia last week, Israeli President Herzog urgently appealed to the world to stop falling for Hamas' lies.

During a visit to Estonia, Israeli President Isaac Herzog sharply criticized the international media and the appropriation of the humanitarian discourse by Hamas. In a moving speech alongside Estonian President Alar Karis, Herzog accused the world public of paying more attention to staged images of alleged hunger in Gaza than to the dramatic situation of the Israeli hostages who have been abducted for over 666 days.

Herzog appeared before the press in Tallinn with photos of the emaciated hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski in his hands. Both men have been held by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) respectively since Oct 7, 2023, and both recently appeared in new, harrowing propaganda videos from the tunnels of Gaza.

"Here you see Evyatar David, a young man who attended the Nova festival. Now he's skin and bones,"

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Herzog explained, visibly moved.

"And you can see the fat hand of his kidnapper. There's enough to eat there, we know that from other hostages who have been released. The other chamber was full of food."

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Braslavski's life was also in acute danger, the president emphasized.

Herzog's anger is not only directed at the terrorists, but also at the media. In particular, he sharply criticized a series of pictures recently published in a major German newspaper: It shows Palestinians with empty cooking pots, not serving food, but posing directly into the camera. According to Herzog, this was a clearly staged PR maneuver directed by a photographer to serve the narrative of the hunger crisis.

"Instead of documenting real hardship, we see PR campaigns like this. This is staged,"

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Herzog said.

"We are not denying that there are humanitarian needs in Gaza. But we say to the world: don't fall for these lies. Demand from Hamas: If you want to move forward, release the hostages."

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The Israeli President also pointed out the concrete aid measures taken by his country:

“In the last week alone, Israel has brought 30,000 tons of aid to Gaza including hundreds of trucks and 30 tons through airdrops one day alone.”

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At the same time, Herzog sharply criticized the United Nations. They are not in a position to efficiently distribute the relief supplies delivered:

"The UN is blocking almost 800 trucks. They could help, but they are failing."

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This accusation is not isolated. For months, there have been massive accusations against UNRWA and other UN organizations that they are working inefficiently or even in collaboration with Hamas structures. Herzog goes one step further and questions the moral integrity of Western debates on Gaza.

The Israeli president spoke not only as a head of state, but as a human being whose people are holding hostages who are all too often forgotten by the world. While the Western media show picture galleries of empty plates in Gaza, the suffering faces of the hostages are pushed into the background.

Herzog's appearance in Estonia was more than just a diplomatic speech, it was a wake-up call to the global community to stop being deceived by emotionally charged but manipulative images.

“If you want peace, you have to bring the hostages home first,”

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said Herzog.

“Anyone who wants an end to violence must first condemn terror, not those who defend themselves against it.”

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Israel's position is clear: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is real, but it is not the cause, it is the consequence of Hamas' policies. And as long as the world plays down or conceals this cause, the hostages in the tunnels will remain buried, physically and in the media.

I was in Gaza... this is what I saw

Benaiah468 said:

In a country that doesn't even know the correct commander of the Israeli police, the world is supposed to see a serious threat?

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Oh they’re not a serious threat ? Guess a those decades of Bibi ringing the alarm bells was silly and the US can stop enabling Israel’s attacks against them, I mean, they’re not a serious threat!

Desk trauma said:

Oh they’re not a serious threat ? Guess a those decades of Bibi ringing the alarm bells was silly and the US can stop enabling Israel’s attacks against them, I mean, they’re not a serious threat!

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Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has warned of new attacks and once again has spoken of resistance against the “Zionists” and the USA. Tehran is capable of an “even bigger blow” than during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in Jun. Between pithy slogans and geopolitical seriousness, the question remains: who still believes him?

Whether Khamenei's words will actually cause alarm in Washington or Jerusalem is questionable. The last military conflict showed that Tehran's room for maneuver is limited. The Iranian response to the Israeli-American operation was fierce, but controlled. The return to sabre-rattling therefore seems less like a credible threat scenario and more like a familiar reflex.

Nevertheless, the situation remains serious for Israel. The regime in Tehran continues to focus on confrontation, both domestically and in terms of foreign policy.

It must be noted that Iran is surrounded by US bases and naval units from which US nuclear and conventional offensive weapons can be launched at Iran. Iran can hardly fend these off. Furthermore, Iran is under constant threat from Israeli conventional and nuclear weapons. Both states have so far refused to make a non-aggression pledge to Iran. On the contrary, they have repeatedly made public statements on the option of a military attack on Iran. Should Iran acquire nuclear weapons and be able to produce the corresponding delivery systems, it would not be able to use them against Israel without accepting the complete destruction of Iran. The principle from the time of the deterrence system of the West-East conflict still applies: "He who shoots first, dies second".

Benaiah468 said:

The Israeli Defense Forces saw through the attempt at deception. In a precise air strike, the terrorists were eliminated near the village of
Dir al-Balah. The operation underscores the tireless vigilance of the Israeli forces, which, despite all efforts to cooperate with humanitarian organizations, do not compromise on security.

The "World Central Kitchen" confirmed to Israeli authorities that the vehicle in Gaza has no connection to its actual work.

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Pernicious lies. [apologies, this appears to be a different event]

Deir el-Balah has generally been free from heavy fighting in the war. In April 2024, when the IDF mistakenly killed members of the World Central Kitchen aid group, the strike took place near Deir el-Balah. The group had been accompanying trucks to a warehouse in the area.

essentialsaltes said:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces “unintentionally hit innocent people” in a “tragic incident” after World Central Kitchen said seven of its aid workers were killed in a strike in Gaza. The food aid nonprofit blamed the Israel Defense Forces and said it was immediately pausing its operations in the region, sayingTuesday’s victims included a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, nationals from Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom, and at least one Palestinian worker. Israel also announced an independent investigation.

World Central Kitchen blamed Israel for the strike, which it said occurred even though the aid group coordinated its movements with the IDF.

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Benaiah468 said:

Nevertheless, the situation remains serious for Israel.

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Schrödinger Iran

essentialsaltes said:

Pernicious lies.

Deir el-Balah has generally been free from heavy fighting in the war. In April 2024, when the IDF mistakenly killed members of the World Central Kitchen aid group, the strike took place near Deir el-Balah. The group had been accompanying trucks to a warehouse in the area.

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You are confusing two incidents that are unrelated in time. Unsadly last year, Israeli drone strikes killed seven WCK aid workers, who were travelling in three of the WCK's cars in the Gaza Strip.

In this week's incident, after the terrorists were eliminated, the WCK has condemned anyone posing as one of its employees and warned that such actions endanger genuine aid workers in Gaza.

The tragic mistake of mistakenly killed members of the WCK aid group, should not have happened. But the question must also be asked why there has never been a serious protest by the international community, the UN and the German government against the common practice of the terrorist organization Hamas of misusing ambulances, clinics and other civilian protection zones for terrorist purposes. This is the root of the problem: it is part of Hamas' calculation to make it impossible to distinguish between attackers, aid workers and civilians. This Hamas practice makes aid missions highly risky. The terrorists are very happy to accept such "collateral damage", because every dead aid worker is a media success for Hamas' goals.

Benaiah468 said:

You are confusing two incidents that are unrelated in time.

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My apologies. It would be helpful if you provided news stories or some other external source to evidence your posts.

essentialsaltes said:

My apologies. It would be helpful if you provided news stories or some other external source to evidence your posts.

View attachment 368497

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That's okay. I will add sources in the future if possible.

In Canada, pressure is growing from BDS-affiliated groups and anti-Israeli academics to cancel the Davis Cup match between Canada and Israel. Officially, it is about "morality", in reality, sport is once again being misused as a stage for political campaigns against the Jewish state.

Less than a month before the planned Davis Cup match in Halifax, a wave of rejection is rolling through parts of the Canadian media and activist scene. Under the guise of supposed "moral responsibility", BDS organizations and individual academics are calling for the match against Israel to be cancelled. The choice of words is difficult, the accusations familiar: "genocide", "illegal occupation", apartheid".

The tone is not chosen by chance. It fits seamlessly into a campaign that has been going on for years, which deliberately places sporting competitions with Israeli participation under general political suspicion. The aim is clear: to isolate Israel, not only in diplomatic forums or economic relations, but also where sporting exchange, fairness and mutual respect should actually prevail.

The demands echo particularly loudly from an opinion piece on "Mondoweiss", a platform that openly spreads anti-Israeli narratives. Three researchers write there that it is "morally imperative" to hold the Davis Cup in Halifax without Israel. They paint the picture of a country that is committing "violations of international law" and suggest that Canada would be complicit if it were to host the team.


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This not only turns the tennis court into a political stage, but also transforms sport as such into a moral weapon. Those who follow this line of thinking are not interested in a debate about rules in international sport; they are interested in a boycott that is deliberately intended to delegitimize Israel's existence.

BDS calls it "sportswashing", Israel's alleged attempt to "whitewash" its own image through its presence in sport. In fact, it is exactly the opposite: sport is the victim of a targeted political campaign whose aim is to close down any stage on which Israel is visible.

Such boycotts have nothing to do with fairness. They punish athletes who compete for sporting achievements, not for political decisions. In the history of international sport, such exclusions have often paved the way for deeper divisions and radicalization. Those who instrumentalize sport create rifts where bridges could actually be built.

In sporting terms, the Davis Cup match in Halifax is an opportunity for two teams to test their skills under fair conditions. Politically, however, it is now a test of whether Canada is prepared to give in to pressure from activist groups who repeatedly question Israel's right to exist.

At a time when anti-Semitic narratives are gaining momentum around the world, adhering to fair sporting rules is not just a question of neutrality, but a commitment to the core values of sport itself. Canada must decide whether it is committed to these values or whether it will allow political activism to carry the ball off the pitch before the game has even begun.

In Denmark, a British rock star turned his show into a political tribunal against Israel with Greta Thunberg as the symbolic figure. What began as a concert ended up as a stage for slogans that are deeply rooted in anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Anyone who came to the Danish music festival Syd for Solen last Friday night was probably expecting loud guitars, energy and the community spirit of a summer night. Instead, the audience witnessed a calculated political spectacle that conveyed a clear message under the guise of "freedom" and "human rights": the delegitimization of Israel. Sam Fender, one of Britain's best-known rock musicians, used his closing number not to say goodbye to his fans, but to leave the stage to clearly anti-Israeli activism including Greta Thunberg, who has long since ceased to appear only as a climate activist, but as a permanent fixture in the international network of anti-Israeli campaigns.

Fender announced his song "Hypersonic Missiles" with the words that he wrote it in 2018, but that the lines are "more relevant than ever". In this introduction, he placed a sentence that not only revealed his political stance, but also prepared the audience for the performance that followed:

"Children in Gaza are being bombed and I'm just outside the door."

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Anyone who listened carefully noticed how the musician reduced the complex Middle East conflict to a morally one-sided headline without context, without historical embedding, without any mention of the terrorist organization Hamas, which has held Gaza hostage for years.


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Then came the "special guest": Greta Thunberg, flanked by other activists waving Palestinian flags. Together they shouted slogans such as

"From the river to the sea - Palestine will be free"

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a slogan that is unmistakable in its meaning: the eradication of the state of Israel between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. These words are no harmless phrase; they have been used time and again throughout history by those calling for a reality without a Jewish state. The fact that this was met with frenetic applause on a European festival stage shows how deeply anti-Semitic narratives have long since seeped into the cultural mainstream.

A giant projected Palestinian flag was emblazoned in the background while an activist named Selma de Montgomery accused the Danish government of being "complicit" in the suffering in Gaza and "all of Palestine" for not ending the arms trade with Israel. This speech was not an emotional outcry in the heat of the moment, but a calculated message that fits perfectly into the script of global BDS campaigns. The appearance by Thunberg and Co. was therefore less spontaneous activism and more a media-effective component of an ongoing international delegitimization campaign against Israel.

The reactions on social media were not long in coming: While many celebrated Fender as "courageous" and demanded that "other artists should learn from him", there were also critical voices advising him to "stick to the music". But these isolated admonitions were lost in the digital euphoria, a euphoria that trivializes hatred against Israel as long as it is clothed in the aesthetic garb of music, art and "justice".

This reveals a dangerous trend: artists no longer use their reach only for political messages, but often for one-sided, highly polarizing campaigns that do not allow for any differentiation. The Middle East conflict thus becomes the backdrop for a moral spectacle in which Israel is always the aggressor, while the crimes and war aims of Hamas remain invisible. The fact that Thunberg herself took part in a pro-Palestinian boat convoy to Gaza just a few weeks ago, a PR maneuver that had no humanitarian benefit whatsoever, but maximum media attention, fits into the picture.

These productions reach an audience of millions, especially young people who perceive pop stars and activists like Thunberg as moral authorities. But they do not convey any knowledge, historical truth or political context. Instead, they sell simplified victim-perpetrator stories that ultimately achieve one thing: The demonization of Israel becomes socially acceptable, and anti-Semitic slogans are given the veneer of "progressive engagement".

Europe must ask itself how it has come to the point where slogans are chanted on festival stages that ultimately call for the destruction of a democratic state. Anyone who utters these words or applauds them cannot claim not to have understood what they mean. History is clear here and it teaches us that such rhetoric never remains in a vacuum.

It is not forbidden to criticize Israel. But when criticism is limited to slogans, ignores terror groups and accepts their propaganda without question, then it becomes complicit with those who do not want peace. Artists like Sam Fender bear responsibility for this and anyone who goes on stage should know that words have power. Greta Thunberg and her comrades-in-arms have long since decided to use this power against Israel.

What is being sold as an administrative measure reeks of political calculation: Paris is refusing to renew the work permits of El Al security staff and is thus targeting the backbone of Israeli aviation security.


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For decades, El Al has been synonymous with uncompromising safety in aviation. No other carrier in the world carries out such strict, thorough and consistent checks - and it is precisely this that is now the bone of contention between Israel and France.

The official line from Paris is that there are "administrative difficulties" in connection with security checks on French diplomats at Charles de Gaulle Airport. In reality, however, the decision means that the work permits for El Al security staff have not been renewed for six months. Without these visas, the security staff are not allowed to work legally in France, a direct blow to Israel's national airline.

Until now, the process has run smoothly: the security guards were classified as ITAN employees, Israeli citizens in the service of diplomatic missions, and received their visas via the embassy. The fact that not a single visa has now been extended comes at a time when France's political relationship with Israel is becoming increasingly frosty. President Emmanuel Macron recently announced his intention to recognize a "Palestinian" state at the UN General Assembly in Sep, a decision that sparked outrage in Jerusalem.

The political imbalance is also evident on the streets: just last week, El Al's offices in Paris were covered in red paint with slogans such as "Free Palestine" and "El Al genocide airline". Israel's embassy blamed an "atmosphere of unbridled incitement", fueled by individual French politicians who were not named.


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The next incident occurred on Monday: a French air traffic controller radioed "Free Palestine" into the cockpit after the take-off of an El Al flight in Paris. El Al reacted sharply and pointed out that any deviation from standard take-off procedures posed a safety risk.

The Israeli foreign minister and the embassy in Paris are now attempting to resolve the conflict diplomatically. France speaks of "ongoing talks", while El Al makes it clear that the safety of passengers and crew is non-negotiable.

The airline leaves no doubt that it will continue to fly with the Israeli flag on the tail, whether Paris likes it or not.

"El Al will continue to fly worldwide, professionally and with the highest level of safety,"

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it said in a statement.

However, the case shows the extent to which political differences are now encroaching on operational areas that were previously considered sacrosanct. When even the safety of Israeli aircraft becomes a political weapon, this is not only a problem for Israel, but also a signal that Europe's promises of solidarity in the face of anti-Semitism and the global security situation are more fragile than many would like to admit.

This thread is about the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel is in talks to possibly resettle Palestinians from Gaza in South Sudan​

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left in ruins by its 22-month offensive against Hamas.

That's ethnic cleansing.