Israel News for 11-27-2023
News Update
We are in the 4th day of the truce, awaiting the release of the final 11 Israeli hostages as part of the original agreement with Hamas to release 50 Israeli hostages. 39 Israeli hostages, all women and children, have already been released. Hamas has reportedly indicated that they will agree to Israel’s offer to extend the truce an additional days for each additional 10 hostages released. For a list of the hostages released thus far, click here.
Israel has released 3 times as many female and minor terrorists from Israeli prisons, who returned to their homes to cheering crowds chanting Hamas slogans and praising Hamas for orchestrating the release of terrorist. The terrorists being released were all arrested for perpetrating or engaging in attacks upon Israeli security forces or civilians. Thankfully, they were stopped before being able to carry out their intended missions.
[This is not a prisoner exchange. Young children, mothers and grandmothers who witnessed the slaughter of their parents, spouses, relatives and friends were brutally kidnapped and held in hellish captivity in Gaza are being traded for young women and teenagers who willfully perpetrated acts of terror with the intention of murdering Israelis.
Hamas is gaining support as a result of their hostage taking. It gains support each time Palestinian terrorists are released by Israel. It gains support for every humanitarian aid, including fuel, truck that is allowed into Gaza as part of the hostage deal. And hundreds of trucks are now entering Gaza. And the Palestinians are cheering Hamas.
This is not a war between 2 armies. It is a war between the armed forces of a sovereign democratic country and a terrorist organization. It is comparable to the war the US and other democracies waged against ISIS and Al Qaeda. The only difference between Hamas and ISIS and Al Qaeda is that Hamas is targeting Israel and the Jewish People and disguises their terrorism and genocidal mission as a Palestinian freedom movement. The other difference between Hamas and the other terror groups is that millions of people throughout the free world are supported and demonstrate for them. Apparently, terrorism and brutality against Jews is ok, under the “right conditions”, even in the warped minds of the intellectual giants of our greatest universities.
A cease-fire with a terrorist army committed to destroying you, that has publicly pledged to continue to repeat the atrocities they perpetrated on Oct. 7 is NOT an option. Hamas has proven that they are an existential threat to Israel. As long as Hamas is allowed to function in Gaza, Israelis will not be able to return to live in the south or, for that matter, feel safe anywhere in Israel. This is an untenable situation for a sovereign nation to exist in. No other nation would stand for it. Neither will Israel.
Hamas’s plan was to gain the support of their subjects by slaughtering, raping and destroying to the greatest extent of their power, and then hold out against Israel’s response until the peace loving nations of the world for Israel to stop. This is what they’ve successfully done repeatedly in the past, and have come out stronger each time. They expect this time to be no different. This time they have scores of hostages to use to buy more time and more support. They know that time is on their side. The more time that passes and the longer the truce lasts, the greater the pressure will be to force Israel to stop.
President Biden has shown very strong support for Israel and for the continuation of Israel’s ground war to annihilate Hamas. But many members of Congress and his administration are either in favor of a cease-fire or are beginning to waiver in that direction. He is losing support in his party and voting base in an election year. How long will his unwavering support remain firm in the face of the immense pressure against him?
The only way Israel can continue as a sovereign nation is to destroy Hamas and make the south safe. The IDF has the power and ability to do that. The only question is whether it has the time to get the job done. And that time is dictated by world public opinion, and specifically public opinion in the US. The battle for public opinion today is being fought in the media and on social media.
We all have the responsibility and opportunity to fight the battle of public opinion to assure that Israel has the time it needs to defend its citizens and its existence as a sovereign state.
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