Chapter 10: The Gaza War

Introduction

The Arab-“Israeli” War of 1948 (the so-called War of Independence) broke out when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate immediately following the announcement of the independence of the state of “Israel” on May 14, 1948.

As a result of this war, the State of “Israel” landed up controlling territory that the U.N. had proposed for the Jewish state, as well as almost 60% of the area which had been originally allocated to the “Arab” state in accordance with U.N. Resolution 181 of 29^th November 1947, including the Jaffa, Lydda and Ramle areas, Upper Galilee and a variety of parts of the Negev, together with a wide strip along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road.

“Israel” further took control of West Jerusalem, which was meant to be part of an international zone for Jerusalem and its environs. Transjordan took control of East Jerusalem and what became known as the West Bank, annexing it the following year, and the Egyptian military took control of the Gaza Strip.

At the Jericho Conference on 1 December 1948, 2,000 Palestinian delegates called for unification of Palestine and Transjordan, as a step toward full Arab unity.

The 1948 war triggered significant demographic change throughout the Middle East. Around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes in the area that became “Israel”, and they became Palestinian refugees in what they refer to as the Nakba ("the catastrophe"). A similar number of Jews moved to “Israel” during the three years following the war, including 260,000 from the surrounding Arab states.

Background

Gaza occupies an area of 365 square kilometers with a total common border with Israel of approximately 50 kilometers. It contains approximately 2.2 million people, which makes for a higher-than-average population density, who it must be remembered were all originally refugees of some sorts.

Which Came First – the Chicken or the Egg?

The conflict between Palestinians and Zionists has been in the making for over a hundred years. Under these circumstances, the chain of events as to who is responsible for what, is now so blurred that to predicate the legitimacy of one set of actions based on another from the other side, amounts to a revolving door called the “blame game”.

Violence

Violence is deplorable period! Hamas, Hezbollah and “Israel,” STOP IT NOW! It is absolutely too late for any party to try and legitimize violence by trying to ascribe blame (the revolving door referred to above) – JUST STOP.

Who has been one of Hamas’ Greatest Supporters to Date?

“Israel” no less!

We quote from the Times of Israel:

The Times of Israel

By TAL SCHNEIDER 8 October 2023, 3:58 pm

“For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces.

The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds from which it will take Israel years to heal.

For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank -- bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group.

The idea was to prevent Abbas -- or anyone else in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank government -- from advancing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Thus, amid this bid to impair Abbas, Hamas was upgraded from a mere terror group to an organization with which Israel held indirect negotiations via Egypt, and one that was allowed to receive infusions of cash from abroad.

Hamas was also included in discussions about increasing the number of work permits Israel granted to Gazan labourers, which kept money flowing into Gaza, meaning food for families and the ability to purchase basic products.

Israeli officials said these permits, which allow Gazan laborers to earn higher salaries than they would in the enclave, were a powerful tool to help preserve calm.

Toward the end of Netanyahu’s fifth government in 2021, approximately 2,000-3,000 work permits were issued to Gazans. This number climbed to 5,000 and, during the Bennett-Lapid government, rose sharply to 10,000.

Since Netanyahu returned to power in January 2023, the number of work permits has soared to nearly 20,000.

Additionally, since 2014, Netanyahu-led governments have practically turned a blind eye to the incendiary balloons and rocket fire from Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel has allowed suitcases holding millions in Qatari cash to enter Gaza through its crossings since 2018, in order to maintain its fragile ceasefire with the Hamas rulers of the Strip.

Most of the time, Israeli policy was to treat the Palestinian Authority as a burden and Hamas as an asset. Far-right MK Bezalel Smotrich, now the finance minister in the hardline government and leader of the Religious Zionism party, said so himself in 2015.

According to various reports, Netanyahu made a similar point at a Likud faction meeting in early 2019, when he was quoted as saying that those who oppose a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Gaza, because maintaining the separation between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

While Netanyahu does not make these kinds of statements publicly or officially, his words are in line with the policy that he implemented.

The same messaging was repeated by right-wing commentators, who may have received briefings on the matter or talked to Likud higher-ups and understood the message.

Bolstered by this policy, Hamas grew stronger and stronger until 7^th October 2023, Israel’s “Pearl Harbor,” the bloodiest day in its history - when terrorists crossed the border, slaughtered hundreds of Israelis and kidnapped an unknown number under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at towns throughout the country’s south and center.

The country has known attacks and wars, but never on such a scale in a single morning.

One thing is clear: The concept of indirectly strengthening Hamas - while tolerating sporadic attacks and minor military operations every few years - went up in smoke that day (7^th October 2023).

Just a few days ago, Assaf Pozilov, a reporter for the Kan public broadcaster, tweeted the following: “The Islamic Jihad organization has started a noisy exercise very close to the border, in which they practiced launching missiles, breaking into Israel and kidnapping soldiers.”

The difference between Islamic Jihad and Hamas doesn’t matter much at this point. As far as the State of Israel is concerned, the territory is under the control of Hamas, and it is responsible for all the training and activities there.

Hamas became stronger and used the auspices of peace that Israelis so longed for as cover for its training, and hundreds of Israelis have paid with their lives for this massive omission.

The terror inflicted on the civilian population in Israel is so enormous that the wounds from it will not heal for years, a challenge compounded by the dozens abducted into Gaza.

Judging how Netanyahu has managed Gaza in the last 13 years, it is not certain that there will be a clear policy going forward.”

So Netanyahu and his henchman (be they in politics or civilians who support Zionism by their very existence in “Israel”) are prepared to perpetrate another holocaust of sorts, to eliminate something (Hamas) they expressly helped create for the sake of expediency, in the first place. How heinous is that?

To What do we Ascribe the Capacity for Hamas being able to so Easily Breach the Border and to Remain there for so Long?

We quote:

BY TDB https://www.armageddonprose.com/

SATURDAY, DEC 02, 2023 - 21:04

“On October 8^th, the day after the Hamas attack, I penned an article calling bullshit on the “intelligence failure” narrative that emerged immediately in the aftermath – how could the governing authorities and media confidently call it an “intelligence failure” mere hours after the event? Just like the story line following the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan and DC.

Although I always take the time to carefully weigh evidence before making any definitive statements, as responsible journalists do, I didn’t feel compelled to wait or hedge in this case because it was palpably clear from the start, that the narrative was total propaganda and would subsequently be debunked in the coming days and weeks.

Even based on the limited evidence available on October 8^th, basic logic defied the “intelligence failure” story:

· Gaza is among the, if not the, most heavily surveilled strips of land on Earth, both from the air (satellite and drone surveillance) and via Mossad spooks on the ground (what the so-called “intelligence community” calls “human intelligence” or “humint” because it loves insular jargon);

· Gaza is among the most densely populated strips of land on Earth;

· The Israeli government controls all of Gaza’s borders in a total siege-style blockade. Nothing goes in or out without the state’s blessing;

· The October 8 operation involved tens of thousands of operatives and a bevy of equipment that would be virtually impossible to move into and around Gaza without detection;

· Hamas clearly had international financial and logistical support, which could not have flowed into the strip without detection;

· Months, if not years of planning went into the operation, including erecting a mock Israeli town inside of Gaza to use for practice. Israeli intelligence literally watched these training sessions from outposts on the border;

· Hamas, sponsored by Iran, had enormous geopolitical incentive to attack when it did, as Israel was on the verge of signing normalization agreements with the Sunni Muslim world that would have threatened Iranian interests, which Israel well understood;

· Netanyahu’s historically controversial and unpopular government was barely clinging to power at the time of the attack, the target of unprecedentedly intense and large protests. Bibi himself was on the verge of imprisonment on corruption charges. An excuse to wage what could be framed as an “existential” war and remain in power indefinitely (which has since transpired), was seemingly the only way to remain for Netanyahu and his hardline allies to remain in office and out of prison. This objective necessarily would have required ignoring actionable intelligence.

… And this is by no means an exhaustive list of the reasons that point to the impossibility of Israeli intelligence ignorance of the impending attack and the incentives that all parties involved had to let October 7 play out the way it did.

It subsequently came out that the substantially less powerful Egyptian intelligence, which does not operate in sovereign Israeli territory of the Gaza Strip as Mossad does, knew of the attack beforehand and warned their Israeli counterparts, which went unheeded.

And now we have further vindication.

Via The New York Times:

“Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.

The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.

The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters.

Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision. The document called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot — all of which happened on Oct. 7.

The plan also included details about the location and size of Israeli military forces, communication hubs and other sensitive information, raising questions about how Hamas gathered its intelligence and whether there were leaks inside the Israeli security establishment.

The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’s capabilities, according to documents and officials.”

Now we ask: who was really responsible for the deaths of 1 200 “Israelis”? The Hamas terrorists or an “Israeli” government who looked the other way at the moment critique, for the sake of expediency (yet again)?

How has the Gaza War Affected U.S. Perceptions of “Israel”?

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters)

“U.S. public support for Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza is eroding and most Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Some 32% of respondents in the two-day opinion poll, which closed on Tuesday, said "the U.S. should support Israel" when asked what role the U.S. should take in the fighting. That was down from 41% who said the U.S. should back Israel in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Oct. 12-13.

Some 68% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they agreed with a statement that "Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate."

About three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans in the poll supported the idea of a ceasefire, putting them at odds with Democratic President Joe Biden who has rebuffed calls from Arab leaders, including Palestinians, to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. The Biden administration instead has urged Israel to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties, something Israel says it is doing.

Israel has so far rejected any talk of implementing longer pauses or a ceasefire, saying Hamas would only use that time to regroup and harden its positions.

In a potentially worrisome sign for Israel, just 31% of poll respondents said they supported sending Israel weapons, while 43% opposed the idea. The rest said they were unsure. Support for sending Israel weapons was strongest among Republicans, while roughly half of Democrats were opposed.”

How has the Gaza War Affected Global Perceptions of “Israel”?

The Gaza crisis has sparked an international outcry that has focused in recent days on the collapsing medical infrastructure in the crowded coastal enclave.

Is “Israel” Sensing an Existential Threat?

We simply don’t know, but they should be! Fighting God has never been a good idea! And since the 76-year period has expired for Esau-Edom, the timing could not be worse. We cannot make this point more emphatically – Jewish folk on the ground in Palestine, now is a good time to find an alternative address, as in a new country.

How far will God allow this to go?

We have no specific revelation on this question, but it is possible that the conflict will continue to escalate until Jerusalem is destroyed, as foretold in Jer. 19:10, 11 and in Isaiah 29:1-6. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity (Christian Zionism) would then be in a state of shock, and many will become disillusioned, thinking that the promises of God have failed. Their support for “Israel” will also probably whither, given the disorientation that will no doubt be prevalent.