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In-Depth Issues:
Oscar-Winning Film Is Based on Falsehood ( Gazawood)
The film "No Other Land," which won an Oscar in 2025 for best documentary, is based on a complete Palestinian falsehood.
The film conveys the narrative that Palestinians have lived in Masafer Yatta for hundreds of years and that Israel suddenly decided to evict them.
In reality, this was abandoned land that nomadic Bedouins occasionally used for grazing and sometimes took shelter in the caves there.
In fact, Palestinian construction in the area only began in the 1990s.
Until 1993, the Israeli Air Force conducted full-scale military attack training in the area, the kind that made permanent residence impossible.
When American-Born "Supermodels" Are Classified as "Palestinian Refugees," Something Is Very Wrong - Barry O'Halloran ( Spiked-UK)
In 1982, UNRWA unilaterally extended the definition of "Palestinian refugee" to include the descendants of all male Palestinians, effectively creating a perpetually expanding population of refugees.
Take the case of Mohamed Anwar Hadid. His father left Nazareth in 1948 and ended up in California where he became a property developer building luxury mansions and hotels in Beverly Hills.
His daughters, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid, are both American-born citizens. Bella reputedly earns up to $20 million a year.
They and their father are still registered as Palestinian refugees with UNRWA.
Why a Palestinian State Is a Security Risk Israel Cannot Afford - David Ben-Basat ( Jerusalem Post)
Supporters of a Palestinian state argue that all people have the right to self-determination, and Palestinians are no exception.
Many Israelis also once supported this vision, believing that granting Palestinians statehood would remove grievances that fuel violence and create a stable, self-sustaining entity.
However, history has shown that each step toward Palestinian independence has led to increased instability.
Suicide bombings, bus explosions, and mass killings during the First and Second Intifadas resulted in thousands of deaths on both sides.
After Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it became a base for rocket attacks against Israel and led to the Oct. 7 attacks.
If Hamas were to gain control of the West Bank, Israel's key cities, including Tel Aviv, as well as Ben-Gurion Airport, would be within direct rocket range.
Supporters of Palestinian statehood often overlook the deep ideological nature of the conflict. The conflict is not just about borders but about ideology and religion.
Surveys indicate that most Palestinians do not accept Israel's right to exist, raising doubts about whether a Palestinian state would genuinely seek peace.
Islamist groups view all of Israel as Muslim-owned ( waqf) land and refuse to accept any compromise.
The writer is a former correspondent for IDF Radio and NBC News.
Vietnam to Buy Two Spy Satellites from Israel - Yossi Melman ( Ha'aretz)
Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a deal to supply Vietnam's Military Intelligence with two spy satellites for $680 million to help Hanoi address China's provocations against its neighbors in the South China Sea.
IAI will supply Vietnam with an optical imagery photography satellite and a synthetic-aperture radar satellite that provides a picture of the ground even at night or through complete cloud cover.
In the past 15 years, Israel has sold a range of spy, communications, weather and research satellites to 23 countries including Italy, India, Morocco and Azerbaijan.
Why Are There No Christians in Bethlehem? - Eness Elias ( Israel Hayom)
Systematic oppression of Christians has been carried out for decades by the Palestinian authorities in Judea and Samaria and in Gaza.
"Terrorist attacks against Christians, assaults on churches, cemeteries, and Christian properties in the Palestinian Authority...have become daily occurrences, and their severity clearly intensifies during Christian holidays," the Greek Orthodox Church recently declared.
Reports from Gaza describe attacks on Christians and Christian holy sites carried out by Hamas police.
The Palestinian authorities persecute the Christian population through systematic land confiscations via the Palestinian courts, extortion and seizure of Christian-owned businesses, and systematic discrimination against Christians in employment.
Christians are excluded from leadership positions in the Palestinian Authority and face difficulties buying and selling land and property.
In 1950 Christians made up 86% of Bethlehem's population. A 2017 census revealed that only 10% of Bethlehem's residents were Christians.
Hamas members occupy most of the seats on the city council.
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In Memoriam
Amb. Dore Gold, z"l
President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (2000 to 2022)
Founder of Daily Alert
Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2015-2016), Israeli Ambassador to the UN (1997-1999), Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- White House Backs Israel Blocking Aid to Gaza - Lauren Irwin
The White House is backing its ally Israel in its decision to block aid to Gaza amid Hamas's refusal to agree to a second ceasefire deal. "Israel has negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists," National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said Sunday. "We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas had indicated it's no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire." (The Hill)
- Arab Leaders Are Struggling to Agree on Hamas's Future Role in Gaza - Summer Said
As Arab leaders look to extend the ceasefire in Gaza and come up with an alternative to President Trump's plan, they are being forced to deal with a question they have long avoided: What to do with Hamas. If Hamas remains in Gaza, Israel isn't willing to end the war, and Gulf Arab states like the UAE aren't willing to fund its reconstruction. Egypt thinks it is unrealistic to talk about eliminating Hamas. Arab leaders are set to meet in Cairo on Tuesday to craft a plan for Gaza's future, after failing to agree on one at a summit in Riyadh on Feb. 21.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar back an Egyptian plan that would see Hamas disarm but play a political role running postwar Gaza along with other Palestinian factions. The UAE wants Hamas completely out. Israel has told mediators it doesn't want Hamas playing any role in postwar Gaza, a demand backed by Washington.
Egypt also wants Hamas and other Palestinian factions to hand over missiles and rockets that could be used to attack Israel, said Egyptian officials. The arms would be stored at depots under Egyptian and European supervision until a Palestinian state is established, they said. But Hamas's senior negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, categorically refused the proposal.
(Wall Street Journal)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Lebanese Army Infiltrated by Hizbullah Loyalists - Shachar Kleiman
A new report by the Alma Research and Education Center warns of the increasing "Shiitization" and cooperation with Hizbullah by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deployed in southern Lebanon, raising questions about the force's ability to enforce the ceasefire agreement.
Maj. (res.) Tal Beeri, head of the research department at the Alma Center, says Lebanese President Joseph "Aoun says what the Americans want him to say, but in the end there is reality, and unfortunately right now it shows other things. I don't see that the LAF is not trying in some part to do its job, but in the end, there are processes and figures that cause it to be unable to perform its tasks."
There is a trend of Shiitization in the LAF, in light of the cessation of mandatory conscription and natural demographic changes in the population, with a downward trend in the recruitment of young Christians and an upward trend of young Shiites. There may already be a Shiite majority in the LAF. "Commanders, officers, and other soldiers, mainly Shiites, are cooperating with Hizbullah, and allowing it to operate freely and bypass international agreements, for example, [UN Resolution] 1701." The Shiitization of the LAF neutralizes its ability to serve as a counterweight to the pro-Iranian Hizbullah.
"The family ties between Hizbullah operatives and LAF soldiers increase the likelihood that Hizbullah will exploit the LAF, especially in southern Lebanon, as a supporting platform, human shield, or even as a direct proxy force. This situation also facilitates the leakage of Western military knowledge and weapons to Hizbullah." If the trend of Shiitization is not curbed, the LAF will eventually become, "at least in part, a proxy force of Hizbullah, or even merging with its military forces."
In the past two decades, the U.S. has provided the LAF with aid worth $3 billion, including Humvees, armored personnel carriers, cannons, light drones, helicopters, light aircraft with attack capabilities, anti-tank missiles and launchers. Some Western equipment and weapons, including anti-tank missiles and surveillance equipment, have leaked to Hizbullah in the past and may continue to leak in the future.
"The assumption of the supporters of the LAF in the West that it can serve as a counterweight to Hizbullah is fundamentally mistaken. The assumption ignores the...cooperation of the LAF with Hizbullah during the last 18 years." (Israel Hayom)
- IDF Strikes Military Compounds in Northern Syria - Yoav Zitun
The IDF confirmed on Monday that it targeted a military site in Qardaha in Latakia province in northwest Syria, where weapons belonging to the previous regime were stored. Syrian sources said the raids struck a radar station north of the city, weapons depot, and a berth near the Syrian port of Tartus. (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War
- Israel Throws Off the Shackles - Editorial
The six-week Gaza ceasefire ended on Saturday. Israel didn't return to war Sunday, meaning Hamas is getting free days of quiet without releasing more hostages. But U.S. and Israeli pressure is increasing. In phase one, Israel ransomed 33 hostages for nearly 2,000 terrorists and security prisoners, and withdrew from most of Gaza. The deal's terms, affirmed by the U.S., give Israel the right to resume fighting.
Israel backed the proposal of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to keep trading terrorists for hostages, and at a faster pace, without the strategic concessions of phase two. Hamas rejected it.
It is down to 59 hostages, including as many as two dozen of them alive.
To prompt Hamas to reconsider, Prime Minister Netanyahu has chosen an intermediate step. "In light of Hamas's refusal to accept the Witkoff outline," he said Sunday, "we have decided to prevent any entry of goods and supplies into Gaza."
This is what President Biden promised at the start of the war. On Oct. 18, 2023, Mr. Biden said aid would enter Gaza "based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas. Let me be clear. If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people, and it will end."
Yet Mr. Biden sanctioned an Israeli protest group that opposed the aid, and kept pressuring Israel to send more, no matter how much Hamas stole. This let Hamas control Gaza's people despite its losses. An Israeli siege means time is no longer on Hamas's side. Israel flooded Gaza with aid during the deal, and it estimates Gaza is stocked for several months. The determination to cut off Hamas's supply and control of new aid is a signal that Israel will no longer play with one arm tied behind its back. (Wall Street Journal)
- Israel Is Paying a Terrible Price in This "Deal" with Hamas - Jake Wallis Simons
In the negotiations between Jerusalem and Hamas, the jihadis have tried to secure the release of the very worst murderers serving the longest sentences in Israeli prisons.
Israelis have been forced to watch as criminals are released to secure the freedom of their innocent compatriots who were snatched from their homes for no greater crime than simply being Jewish.
Israelis are under no pretense that giving freedom to such numbers will produce anything other than blood and tears. Israel is a practical country and it is quite obvious that the very dynamic of the deal provides a powerful incentive for further hostage taking. Yet this is the nature of the Israeli social contract.
The Jewish state is a remarkable outlier when set alongside other liberal democracies. Its birth rate is high, not low; its population young and growing; its social bonds are powerful, with the nation relating to itself as an extended family, not atomized, unpatriotic and demoralized.
The ancient Talmudic motto, "Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Bazeh," means "all of Israel hold a responsibility for each other." It is this that motivates hundreds of thousands of men, both young and not-so-young, to leave their families, their children and their businesses and place their necks on the line for the sake of defending the family of the nation.
The writer is editor of the Jewish Chronicle-UK.
(Telegraph-UK)
- Gaza - The Day After and the Way Forward - Col. (ret.) Yigal Carmon
The media are talking about the day after the Gaza war as if it will be characterized by a political solution for peace. This is the last thing that will be possible after the war ends. Arab positions have become severely radicalized because the war in Gaza and on Israel's northern border have given rise to new hope in the hearts of the Palestinians and the Arabs, based on the belief that Israel is not as strong as they thought.
The Arabs have also learned that taking hostages is a strategic weapon and in any future war this weapon will be used. In addition, the Arabs have learned that the use of Arab civilians as human shields is highly effective against Israel and similar foes. This is because the Western world does not blame Hamas for taking hostages and using their own people as human shields, but blames Israel for fighting for its life. All this has given the Arabs and Palestinians new hope. It is not yet the time to make peace - only temporary arrangements.
The writer, former counter-terrorism advisor to two Israeli prime ministers, is founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute. (MEMRI)
- International Law Is No Bar to Trump's Gaza Proposal - Eugene Kontorovich
EU and UN officials who have insisted that President Trump's Gaza plan would violate international law are wrong. Gaza is one of the very few pieces of land not under the sovereignty of any nation in international law. A distinct Gaza came into being as a result of Egypt's invasion of Israel in 1948.
When Israel retook Gaza in 1967's Six-Day War, it had sovereign claims on it. These were based on Gaza's location within the boundaries of the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, the predecessor entity to Israel. As an experiment in "land for peace," Israel withdrew its entire civilian population and military presence in 2005. Since then, Gaza has been up for grabs.
Because Gaza isn't a state, it isn't subject to military occupation under the Fourth Geneva Convention, making the restrictions the treaty places on occupying powers irrelevant.
The sovereignty gap makes a U.S. bid legally feasible. Israel, having taken parts of the territory in a war of clear self-defense, should be able to claim sovereignty over all or part of the territory, as it did in the Golan Heights.
The "right of self-determination" doesn't allow local ethnic groups to choose which country they are in - ask the Kurds, the Catalans or the Greenlanders. In any case, the Palestinian population has categorically rejected sovereignty unless it includes Jerusalem, which is Israeli sovereign territory, and is accompanied by the migration of millions of Arabs into the sovereign borders of Israel.
The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School and a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. (Wall Street Journal)
Observations:
- Ambassador Dore Gold, among Israel's great scholar-diplomats, was a consummate scholar of Israel, the Middle East, and U.S.-Israel relations. His scholarly career in Israel began at Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center, where he ran the U.S.-Israel Defense Project. He served as an advisor to then-Deputy Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Madrid Conference in 1991.
- He pioneered a revival of Gen. Yigal Alon's "defensible borders" concept and prevailed upon Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to include defensible borders in an American letter endorsing Israel's security needs provided by President George W. Bush on April 14, 2004, in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
- Representing Israel at the UN, he summarized the UN's
hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy in Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos (2004). He hosted an event at the UN showing Israel's millennia of archaeological history with artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods proving the Jewish people's profound connection to the Land of Israel since antiquity.
- He documented this in his 2007 bestseller The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City. In 2009, his bestselling book, The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West, warned Israel and the world about the Iranian regime's deceptive diplomacy.
- Dore's visionary approach to Israel's national security, his scholarship, and diplomatic finesse was only matched by his consummate personal integrity. He displayed the qualities of a true gentleman of an era gone by. He also paved a new pathway for Israelis of American descent to play essential roles in Israel's national security and foreign policies and its international diplomacy.
- We at the Jerusalem Center are dedicated to continuing his legacy of embracing Arab allies and securing Israel's borders while battling the disinformation, delegitimization and defamation of Israel.
The writer is President of the Jerusalem Center.
See also The Passing of Dr. Dore Gold - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
My wife Sara and I deeply mourn the passing of Dr. Dore Gold, a prolific academic researcher, brilliant Israeli diplomat and close personal friend. Dore accompanied me for over three decades as a dedicated public servant without peer.
Dore was multi-talented and served as a diplomatic adviser, Israeli Ambassador to the UN and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was endowed with a unique intellectual integrity, working ability and a genuine love for the State of Israel.
He also had a fervent Zionist vision and a sharp analytical ability that was beneficial for Israel in the international arena. A prominent example of this, one of many, was his contribution to achieving the Abraham Accords with Arab countries. His informative books clearly show the just path of the State of Israel. Our country will miss Dore. May his memory be blessed. (X-Hebrew)
See also Video: The Evidence that Jerusalem Is Jewish - Amb. Dore Gold
On Sep. 5, 2017, Amb. Dore Gold presented 3,000 years of Jewish history in Jerusalem to the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London.
(YouTube)
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