Once again, we have just completed a wild week of geopolitical happenings. Some nations are threatening one another, while others are condemning each other. And in a few other places, there are actually signs of peace and hope.
The Israeli government has approved 3,400 housing units to be created in the strategic E1 area of Judea and Samaria. Essentially, Israel is taking back what is theirs. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “Today we are making history. We are removing the Palestinian state from the table. I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to apply full Israeli sovereignty over the region!” Housing in this area will connect Jerusalem to Ma’ale Adumim, east of the city. This will disrupt the Palestinian territorial continuity between Ramallah and Bethlehem, essentially blocking the prospects of a Palestinian state. Developing housing in this region is one more large step in making all of Israel once again part of the State of Israel.
The IDF Moves into Gaza City
Since the beginning of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has eliminated around 2,000 terrorists, conducted strikes on approximately 10,000 terror targets, and seized control of nearly 75% of the Gaza strip. It’s now time to begin the next phase. The IDF began softening the target in the eastern neighborhood called Zeitoun. While now it is mostly from the air, it is all in preparation for the soon-coming ground invasion. Over the next four-to-six months, the IDF will begin striking tunnels along the outskirts of Gaza City. The objective is to eventually encircle the city, push inside, and seize Hamas strongholds. Along the way, nearly 800,000 residents will have to be moved south to aid centers and field hospitals which are being set up by the United Nations and various NGOs. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the only way to peace is to crush Hamas. It appears that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a majority of Israel’s government agree with him.
Netanyahu vs. Albanese
In the last months, Australia has been rapidly separating itself from Israel. Most recently, the government has refused to grant visas to a number of Israeli citizens, even as they promise to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations general assembly next month. These situations and others ultimately led to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashing out at Anthony Albanese, his Australian counterpart, in a scathing post on X: “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
International media immediately attacked Netanyahu for his tone. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid joined them, essentially saying that the PM sounded like a meanie. But Netanyahu is standing by his words, as is his cabinet. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is responding to Australia’s anti-Israel attitude by revoking the stay visas of the Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority, while also upping the scrutiny of those who want to enter Israel from Australia. Considering the rapidly increasing level of state-condoned antisemitism in Australia, this is certainly an appropriate response.
Another Leg of the Gaza Famine Myth Collapses
I spent much time in the last two articles debunking the Hamas-created, media-perpetuated myth that there is a famine crisis in Gaza. This past week, American media company The Free Press released their own investigation into the allegations. They found that all the photos of the “hungry Gazan children” from the front pages of Western media outlets were actually pictures of ailing children who were suffering from pre-existing medical conditions. The Free Press also discovered that not one of the leading media outlets bothered to do a simple Google search to suss this truth out.
This is despicable and disgusting for two reasons. First, these pictures were used as evidence to bolster a deliberate libel against a sovereign government. It accused Israel of one of the most heinous of crimes: purposely causing the suffering of children due to racial hatred. But the second reason is even worse than the first. The terrorists and their complicit media toadies knowingly exploited the pain and anguish of innocent children to promote their own agenda. When you read your newspaper or watch your television news programs, let that truth be the lens you look through. I’m heart-broken and I’m disgusted by their agenda-driven callousness toward the misery of these sick and dying children whom they abused and misused to their own ends.
A First for Israel and Syria
A report by SANA, the official Syrian news agency, stated that the state’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaybani, met on Tuesday with an Israeli delegation in Paris. The purpose was to discuss strengthening stability in the region and in southern Syria. It is a huge deal that the news agency reported this, rather than hiding it or downplaying it. I’ve clearly communicated my distrust of the new al-Qaeda president in Syria, so I’m assuming that for Israel this is a matter of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
Lebanon’s Powder Keg
I’ve often discussed how badly I feel for most of the Lebanese people. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. Lebanon’s government is saying that Hezbollah must disarm. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has responded, “Hezbollah will not hand over its weapons as long as Israeli aggression continues and the occupation persists, and if necessary, we will enter into a battle like Karbala to fight Israel and the US’s plans, whatever tomorrow may bring. The government bears responsibility for any internal explosion or civil war that may break out.”
Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy to Lebanon and Syria Tom Barrack and Deputy U.S. special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus met with Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun. Following that meeting, Barrack stated that Israel much respect its commitments in the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and begin a military withdrawal from the south of the country. However, Israel’s mindset is that once Lebanon disarms Hezbollah so that it is no longer a threat to Israel, that’s when we’ll start letting our guard down.
In the middle of all this are the Lebanese people who suffer because of Lebanon’s weakness, Hezbollah’s stubbornness, and Israel’s penchant for self-preservation. Violence will continue to surround their lives until Hezbollah is dismantled once and for all.
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