Shalom all,

The number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 238. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 577. The number of hostages still held by Hamas and other terrorists is estimated at around 134.

After last week’s disclosures that the United States was working together with a number of “partners” to effectuate the establishment of a “Palestinian” state – without Israel’s involvement, the Knesset [Israel’s Parliament] earlier this week voted overwhelmingly against imposing such unilateral recognition on Israel. In what can only be described as a rare, historical moment, 99 of 120 Members of Knesset agreed to the declaration. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, commented in an “X” post (formerly Twitter): “This landmark vote underscores our collective resolve: We will not reward terrorism by unilateral recognition in response to the October 7 massacre, nor will be accept imposed solutions. This strong stance sends a powerful message to the world: Peace and security for Israel will be achieved through negotiations, not through unilateral actions. Today, we stand united more than ever.”

Given such a stance on the part of Israel’s law makers and leadership, one would have to ask why foreign governments still speak about recognizing what is unrecognizable, a so-called “Palestinian” state. Maybe because there are still politicians who hold to the same point of view of Ahmed Tibi of the Ta’al Party, one of Israel’s most outspoken Arab Members of Knesset, who said, during the plenum debate on the proclamation: “A Palestinian state will be established Ras Ben Ami [Arabic slang for “in spite of his opposition”].”

Michael Freund, who served as deputy communications director under P.M. Netanyahu’s first term of office, wrote an Opinion piece appearing in The Jerusalem Post this evening (February 24th) entitled “Palestine is dead: No one will ever be able to make a Palestinian state”.   In the article, he pointed out certain realities that Western politicians, such as UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French President Emmanuel Macron, who “floated [the] suggestion”, notwithstanding the continuing Gaza War, that the time has come to give the “Palestinians” an independent state, “even in the absence of a negotiating process.” Freund cogently points out that what these, and other statesmen, fail to understand is that “the very idea of a Palestinian state is no longer geographically viable, morally acceptable, or even politically tolerable to the overwhelming majority of Israelis. Simply put, the idea of “Palestine” is dead and buried, and no matter how hard they may try, Western politicians will never be able to revive it.” He noted that a recent poll  released last month revealed that a considerable majority of Israelis are opposed to such a move, which is doomed to failure for a number of different reasons, among which is the national trauma of October 7th, that will prevent such a grant of “a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism”. He concludes that “In light of the realities on the ground…it is time for people such as Cameron, Macron, and like-minded loons in the US State Department to take a dose of some reality pills.” 

If anyone reading this post has access to such “loons”, you might want to send them a copy of Freund’s article. 

In the midst of the ongoing Gaza War, Israel chose to send representatives to Paris for the renewal of talks that would lead to another hostage release / cease-fire. The Israeli delegation returned to Israel a few hours ago, with a new and updated outline for negotiations, with the major question being whether Hamas would agree to the new framework. There were, as usual, conflicting reports regarding any real progress in the talks, as the discussions in Paris focused on various demands of Hamas, including the complete withdrawal of the IDF from the northern Gaza Strip, which Israel opposed. The same news source indicated earlier today that the Israeli delegation returned from Paris “with no significant breakthrough, stating there are plans for follow-up talks in the future.”  There is no denying that pressure has been mounting on Israel to reach a deal with Hamas to prevent a planned move by the IDF against the City of Rafiah in the southern region of Gaza, and particularly, for such a deal to be made before the onset of Ramadan. According to a report in Sky News, a Hamas political official said that Israel’s position was making it difficult to reach an agreement. Particularly, the official said “the Israelis had refused the main demands put forward by Hamas to ’stop the aggression, to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, to return displaced people to the north [of Gaza], and to make a real reciprocal deal’ on exchanging the Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israel … [adding that] his group [Hamas] is sticking to these demands.” P.M. Netanyahu’s response was that the demands of Hamas are “delusional”.

The leftist-leaning news site, Haaretz, reports this evening that broadly speaking, the outline/proposal calls for a six-week lull in the fighting, during which around 40 hostages would be released, including women, elderly and those in poor health, humanitarian aid and the release of prisoners being held in Israel. But, Israel will not commit to ending the war. The Guardian adds that Hamas is demanding the release of 500 “Palestinian” prisoners for each Israeli soldier being held in Gaza, along with its other demands. From a realistic point of view, if Hamas is holding a dozen Israeli soldiers, such a demand would result in Israel having to release 6,000 prisoners, which, in essence, was the original demand of Hamas. Even this demand would be a possibility, however far-fetched it might be. But, an immediate end to the war is a non-starter.

We are back to the point that is left unresolved from the outset of the Gaza War, with two seemingly irreconcilable goals: Ending the power and influence of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the safe return of the hostages. Both goals demand an all-out resolve on Israel’s part. 

The multitude of demonstrations that take place almost nightly in Israel for an immediate cease fire, coupled with the demand to bring the hostages home, NOW, is a different way of calling upon the government to yield to all of the demands of Hamas, so that some 130 plus hostages can be returned. Some hold up placards saying, “Choose the lives of our loved ones.” But, choose between what? The safe return of the hostages over an extended period of time, as against the safety of entire communities in the south of Israel. As of tonight, we still do not know how many hostages are still alive, who they are and the status of their health. We also don’t know whether Hamas, along with Islamic Jihad, will be able to return all of the hostages, or even if they know where all the hostages are. Israel appears to be running after Hamas to enter into another deal. It is as though we, the victim of a demonic massacre, are pleading with the devil that he should agree to make another deal with us, knowing that he will lie and deceive. And then after that, another deal and then still another deal. Hamas has learned how to fight a psychological war, while Israel hasn’t grasped its fundamentals.

The other side of the coin is the military successes against the Hamas terrorist organization. As Israel is poised to press on towards Rafiah, in seeking to weed out Hamas operatives, the world community is becoming more tense. The terrorist invasion of October 7th is of little, or no concern, to most of the nations. The expressed concern is over the number of alleged Gazan deaths, the reports of which are released by the Gaza Health Department that is under the control of Hamas. Almost half of the numbers include the deaths of terrorists, but they are lumped together in the release of the figures. The rest are unable to be independently confirmed. 

Given enough time, the IDF can destroy the organizational structure of Hamas. Militarily, Israel can defeat the Hamas terrorists, even though it may not be able to eliminate the ideology that underlies and motivates their anti-Israel and anti-Jew actions. Whether it can find the leading players in Gaza is another story. There is the possibility that Yehya Sinwar has left Gaza with his family via the tunnel network and is presently in Egypt, or somewhere else. The whereabouts of Mohammed Deif is also not known. For the Hamas leadership, its soldiers are expendable. Many of the terrorists are recognizing that their leadership doesn’t care about them, so they are making the decision to surrender to the IDF. The information gathered from the captured terrorists allows for additional measures to defeat Hamas and, in some instances, to locate some of the hostages, as was the case last week. But, the big question regarding the hostages is: Where are they being held? If we defeat Hamas militarily, but do not succeed in freeing the hostages, will we be considered as having “won” the war? Conversely, if at war’s end, Hamas is allowed to continue to exist, but is not said to have lost the war, then according to the mentality of the region, it will be viewed as if it has won.

Another question is whether Israel can achieve the military goals of the Gaza War before the beginning of Ramadan, which is almost around the corner. Israel is planning to restrict the number of Muslims who will be able to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque to those over the age of 60 and under the age of 10. Hamas warns against an imminent “explosion of rage” if restrictions will be imposed. Consideration is being given to lower the age from 60 to 40. In a message posted on Telegram, Hamas wrote: “We call on the people of our Palestinian people in the occupied territories, Jerusalem and the West Bank, to escalate the confrontation of the occupation everywhere…[and] to mobilize and march to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, to protect it from the desecration of the usurping settlers, and to thwart all fascist plans targeting the Holy Mosque and the Holy City.”  

It is amazing that the Hamas leadership continues to make threats against Israel and expects that Israel will allow tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Muslims to visit the mosque in the midst of the Gaza War. Israel would be absolutely justified, not only in restricting the number of visitors, but of restricting them entirely. As one person said: “We didn’t celebrate Simchat Torah (the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was on October 7th)! Then they shouldn’t have Ramadan!” That should be a statement with which we can readily agree.

No discussion today about the Hezbollah, or the Houthis. Not because they are not important. But, because they are separate stories that will need to be dealt with at another time. Still, please remember to pray about the situation in the north. If the IDF pursues action in Rafiah or follows through with its plans to restrict visitation of Muslims to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the region could explode and the pot that is heating up with Hezbollah can boil over. 

As a final thought, I’ll leave you with Jonathan S. Tobin’s opening words in his article that appeared in Jewish News Syndicate on February 19th: “What Americans [and others – my addition] don’t get about Israelis fighting for their lives…They fail to understand a traumatized nation facing genocidal foes – one that is united behind a war whose aim is the preservation of their very existence.”

The Dry Bones Blog – 23 February, 2024

As we begin a new week, and despite any difficult circumstances –

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin