Israel Report - Saturday 23 March 2024
For such a Time as This.....
This weekend the first Purim, the Feast of Esther, since October 7 will occur.
To celebrate this feast the Jews have prepared for what is usually one of the most joyous times of any year.
This year it falls during a time of great distress, grief, and turmoil.
On the Hebrew calendar year, 5784 in the month of Adar, the celebration will commence at sundown on March 24 and end at nightfall on March 25.
Purim is greeted in religious and secular contexts with street parties, costumes worn by adults and children, and synagogues filled to capacity.
They will read the Megillah—Esther’s ten chapters—or fasting, feasting, attending parties and parades, and giving gifts to charities and children.
Purim holds the promise of celebrating victories over enemies. This year this could not be more appropriate.
The book of Esther describes the plight of the Jews living within the Persian empire during the reign of King Xerxes [Ahasuerus] circa 474 BC.
A man named Haman held the position of what would be today, Prime Minister. He planned the eradication of the Jewish population living in exile in Persia at the time.
God had other plans. He used Jewish Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai to reverse the course toward a holocaust from a genocidal catastrophe to a great victory.
It is a dramatic and deeply moving account of God's love and protection of His people.
The current “Haman’s” in the Middle East—Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran—should take notice. Israel is a constant reality and she is showing great strength and resilience.
In our day there are many 'Haman’s" out for the destruction of Jewry and Israel in particular.
Biden, Blinken, Trudeau, Sunak, Erdogan, Khamanei, Macron, and a host of other world leaders are presently pressuring Netanyahu and his government to call for a six week ceasefire in the current conflict just as victory is in sight.
There are now a mere four Hamas battalions left to be destroyed and they are living underground somewhere in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Hamas represents a prime example of global anti-Semitism. They are the product of a long line of predecessors who have attempted to bring about Haman's evil plans on many occasions down the running centuries since the reign of Queen Esther.
A generation still alive today witnessed an intense attempt by a little Austrian corporal to finally do away with European Jewry and had he been successful could well have gone on to destroy them globally.
As it is he managed to send to their deaths more than 6 million descendants of Isaac in a display of demonic fury before the end of World War Two.
Persian genocidal ambition is now, once again, at the forefront of global politics and as their famous citizen Haman behaved all those years ago, is breathing hatred, murder and extinction toward Jews wherever they may be found.
The most prominent Haman’s now are the Islamist Imams who in 1979 took over Iran in a religious war to recreate a worldwide Muslim caliphate.
They have their murderous eyes on the United States, Israel, Europe, and the Western world at large.
The Islamic Regime of Iran is not only forging ahead in its quest for a nuclear weapon - they may already possess such materiel anyway - they also finance their own Haman-like proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
Daily they take advantage of the weakness and dithering of the West to preach from global mosque pulpits and through a willing media a gospel of pure loathing displaying a strong desire to spill as much Jewish blood as they can.
Current events surely show clearly that we could be on the cusp of what the prophet Jeremiah called "The Time of Jacob's Trouble" as regional war now seems inevitable.
To be sure, scripture promises she will be 'saved out of it' nevertheless an enormous challenge lies ahead.
Can Israel survive a war on four or more fronts? Her allies are retreating and an air of desertion prevails.
Canada has banned sales of weaponry, America is slowing down that process, and is to be found meddling in dangerous Middle Eastern politics in the past week alone.
The UK government has warned Israel that it could withhold weapons if the Red Cross is not given access to imprisoned Hamas fighters, according to Israeli media.
Foreign secretary Lord Cameron is said to have warned Israeli officials that an “arms embargo” could be declared in Europe if Israel continue to withhold access to prisoners, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday.
Isaiah 17; 4-6 states that war is coming and it will weaken Israel - and yet her God will rescue her as He always has.
For He says; “the days come, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. [Jeremiah 30]
We live is such extraordinary times. Days which the biblical prophets longed to see.
As the world follows slavishly the social events of the day, and throws itself into post-pandemic self indulgence we must keep our eyes steadfastly on the developments in the Middle East and give God no rest continually praying fervently for the protection of Israel and for the peace of Jerusalem - for the Prince of Peace Himself.
[Mordecai to Esther; For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place” Esther 4;14]
Perhaps you were created for just such a time as this?
Clueless Blinken Unloads on Bibi:
"You need a coherent plan" or face disaster in Gaza
Secretary of State Blinken warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet in a meeting on Friday that Israel's security and its place in the world are in peril, and "you might not realize it until it's too late," a source familiar with the meeting said.
Behind the scenes: Blinken told Netanyahu and the war cabinet that he came to Israel as a friend [yeah, of course?] who spent the past five months defending Israel around the world. [against her rightful self-defence?]
But he warned that on the current trajectory, without a clear plan for the day after the war, Israel will be left with a major insurgency it can't handle.
Rather like when Bush left Iraq?
"You need a coherent plan, or either you're going to be stuck in Gaza," Blinken said, according to the source.
The Secretary of State said that on the current path, Hamas will stay in control in Gaza or there will be anarchy, which will just create the conditions for more terrorism.
According to the source, Netanyahu said after Blinken's remarks: "We will have our hands full for decades."
The other side: Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Blinken's warning.
Netanyahu said in a statement after the meeting that he'd told the secretary of state he appreciates the U.S. support for Israel since the October 7 attacks.
"I told Blinken we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from war zones in Gaza and to take care of humanitarian needs and that we are taking action in this direction."
"But I also told Blinken that we can't defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and dismantling the remaining battalions there. I told him that I hope we can do it with U.S. support but if we need to we will do it on our own."
During Blinken’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, he discussed with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the American-Saudi component of a larger plan that would see Riyadh recognize Israel. [how huge of them!]
A senior State Department official travelling with Blinken on his Mideast trip told the Associated Press that the pair talked about the bilateral portion of the deal, with only a “handful of issues” remaining to be resolved.
A “two state final solution” being one of them?
US to bring UN resolution calling for Ceasefire in Gaza......
The United States on Friday morning will bring a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal to the United Nations Security Council for a vote, a spokesperson said.
“The United States has been working in earnest with Council members over the last several weeks on a Resolution that will unequivocally support ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, which would get hostages released and help enable a surge in humanitarian aid," Nate Evans, [pictured above] spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations, said on Thursday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Israel later today to press for the temporary truce in Gaza, ahead of a key UN Security Council vote.
After talks in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Blinken will arrive to Israel, his sixth trip to the region since the war began.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), indicated on Thursday that he would likely approve a request for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to invite Netanyahu to address the Congress soon.
Over 70% of Arab Palestinians approve of Hamas invasion recent poll shows…..
93% don’t believe Hamas committed war crimes against Israeli civilians.
A broad majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip approve of the Hamas invasion and massacre on October 7 of last year, a recent poll published by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) shows.
The support for Hamas’ decision to launch its attack rose in the Gaza Strip (57-71%) and slightly dropped in the West Bank - Judea and Samaria- (82-71%) since the last PSR poll in December.
Along with deeply ingrained hate for Israel and Jews among many Arab Palestinians, a possible explanation for the exceptionally high support lies in the revived international attention for the Arab Palestinian cause since last October.
Despite a decline in Hamas’ popularity in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, some three-quarters of respondents said they thought the attention from the war could lead to recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Data regarding popular support for Hamas as a political group were somewhat contradictory. When respondents were asked which political party they support, only 34% said Hamas, down from 43% in the last poll. But just before the war, this figure was at only 22%.
Regardless, 70% of those surveyed said they were satisfied with the role played by Hamas during the war, with 61% also approving of the role played by its Gazan leader, Yahya Sinwar.
In comparison, only 14% said they were satisfied with the conduct of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
Continuing with the contradictory responses, 59% of respondents, including 52% in the Gaza Strip, said that Hamas should be in control of the enclave after the war ends.
'Death or Surrender': IDF arrests 650, including 'Senior Hamas officials,' in Shifa....
The IDFhas arrested "very senior" Hamas officials in Shifa but cannot disclose the names due to ongoing investigations, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari [pictured above] said.
The IDF announced on Thursday that in its four-day operation in Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, it has now killed around 140 terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as arrested around 650 additional terrorists.
This was a significant jump from the 90 killed and 160-350 arrested, which the IDF confirmed on Wednesday.
Curiously, the IDF said that all of the Islamic Jihad operatives in the area quickly surrendered, whereas Hamas’s forces were split into two groups, with one large group also surrendering en masse and one large group continuing to resist.
According to the IDF, this second group’s continued fighting could prolong the operation for several additional days.
IDF estimates are that there are an additional 50 Hamas fighters to subdue within the Shifa Complex, of which 20 may have significant roles.
IDF sources said that the operation had been planned for over a month.
Such an extensive period of time indicates that the IDF may have intentionally waited longer for more terrorist senior officials to arrive before attacking.
Gaza City Intelligence Surveillance-Look-out Chief Husam Salame and Information Warfare Head Wasem Salame were both among the senior Islamic Jihad officials whom the IDF captured.
Senior Hamas officials whom the IDF captured included Nablus Terror Head Amad Atzida, Hamdala Hassan Ali, who has managed much of the terror in the Qalqilya area, and the previously announced arrest of Mahmoud Kawasme, the last terrorist conspirer connected to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014.
Some IDF sources explained that the terror groups likely returned to Shifa, despite the IDF already having cleaned it out in November 2023, because they did not expect the military to return to the hospital in the middle of Ramadan, with a rise in global criticism of Israel, and with hostage negotiations at a critical point.
These IDF sources said that the paradigm for IDF action in Gaza has shifted, and it is now ready to act anywhere and anytime, regardless of the human shields Hamas hides behind.
In addition, IDF sources said that the military’s level of intelligence now in Gaza is at unprecedented levels due to having achieved operational control, even in areas where it seems troops have abandoned.
According to Hagari, terrorists continued to hide in the hospital's maternity ward, vowing that the IDF would reach everyone. "If you surrender, you will not be killed," he said.
Canada to Stop Arms Sales to Israel......
Canada plans to halt arms sales to Israel, its Foreign Minister Melanie Joly [above with Trudeau] told The Toronto Star after the Canadian Parliament passed a non-binding motion that called on the government to do so.
Her statement was confirmed on Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Robert Oliphant.
“We will continue to advocate for a ceasefire, we will continue to not sell arms as we have promised and continue to make sure that we bring hostages back to their homes,” Oliphant told the parliament in Ottawa during a question and answer session.
Russian Forces Move Closer to the Mountains of Israel......
Various media outlets in the Middle east region, in particular, Syrian State media run by Bashar al-Assad and also Israel’s Channel 11 broadcaster, report that Russian forces are moving closer to the Israel-Syria border.
Russian forces have been in Syria since September 2015.
They entered the Syrian Civil War basically to save Bashar al-Assad’s hide. Assad eventually prevailed in that Civil War and the Russian incursion into Syria was the game changer.
Russian forces have not left nearly nine years later. They are still in Syria and are the most powerful force in that country where a number of regional actors have a footprint—the Iranian regime and Hezbollah foremost among them.
Turkey is in Syria as well, and in the past, ISIS and Al-Qaeda were also in the region.
Syria has been, a Potpourri of rogue regimes and terror groups all stationed in one place—at Israel’s doorstep.
Now, reports that Russia is stationing forces closer along Israel’s border are a cause for great concern. There are geopolitical ramifications and prophetic ramifications as well. [Ezekiel 38/9]
Before the Ukraine war, Israel did enjoy decent relations with Russia. Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Moscow many times and met with Vladimir Putin face to face—that’s now out the window.
Vladimir Putin’s regime is aligning itself with Israel’s greatest enemies, the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and Iran. They also hosted Hamas delegations in Moscow in the wake of October 7th.
IRAN/SYRIA
Iran is ready to enhance Syria’s defence, deterrence capabilities….
Iran’s Defence Minister, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani [pictured above] has announced that Iran is ready to assist Syria in boosting its defence and deterrent power against continued violations of its sovereignty, particularly by the US and Israel.
Ashtiani made the remarks during a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Tehran yesterday, noting that his country is willing to “utilize its full capabilities” to help Syria, just “as [Iran] stood by Syria during the war against terrorism.”
“Any strategic mistake and adventure of the US and the Zionist regime will lead to the worsening of the situation in the region,” Ashtiani said.
The Iranian defence minister also attributed the deaths of over 30,000 Arab Palestinians and the injuries of 70,000 others in Gaza to the US, which “would not have happened without the support of the United States, the silence of international organizations, and the reluctance of some Arab and Islamic countries.”
He further condemned persistent Israeli aggression on Syria as a “violation of Syria’s territorial integrity,” while also denouncing the US’s “illegitimate, occupying, illegal and unjustifiable” military presence in the country.
Syrian Defence Minister Abbas [pictured above] for his part was quoted as saying: “America realized how weak the foundation of this regime is after the launch of the war.”
“Resistance, steadfastness and increasing defence power and strengthening bilateral cooperation is the best way to deter enemies and this has doubled the need for cooperation and solidarity between the two countries against enemies,” he added.
Hours after the meeting, Israel carried out several airstrikes in Damascus, resulting in one Syrian soldier sustaining injuries and material damages.
“At approximately 00:42 after midnight, the Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of positions in the southern region,” Syria’s SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.
Iran seeks to expand Russia ties following Putin election victory...
The Iranian leader expressed “hope that his [Putin’s] new term would provide a suitable ground for the promotion of relations between Tehran and Moscow.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week and called for even closer ties between Tehran and Moscow.
The countries already have warm ties, and Iran has supplied Russia with drones that it has used in deadly attacks in Ukraine.
The call between Raisi and Putin took place after Putin won re-election in Russia.
The Iranian regime leader praised the Russian regime leader for his re-election in an election that was never in doubt.
Fars News in Iran noted that the Iranian leader expressed “hope that his [Putin’s] new term would provide a suitable ground for the promotion of relations between Tehran and Moscow.”
IRAQ
The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" (IRI) announced early this Thursday morning its targeting of an electricity generation station in Tel Aviv using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
The group stated, "The mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted at dawn today, Thursday, March 21, 2024, by drone, the power plant in Tel Aviv in our occupied territories”.
"We will continue to destroy enemy strongholds in completion of the second phase of operations to resist the occupation, and to support our people in Gaza, and in response to the Zionist massacres against innocent civilian defenseless Palestinians."
This targeting comes approximately 24 hours after IRI announced its targeting of Ben Gurion Airport deep within Israel using UAVs.
Last Monday, IRI declared its targeting of an Israeli military drone base in the Golan Heights with drones.
It also confirmed on the 5th of March, its targeting of the power plant at Haifa Airport, and days before that, it announced its targeting of the chemical materials station at Haifa Port.
At the beginning of February, IRI announced its attack on a target in Eilat, Israel, using drones.
On January 25th, it indicated that it targeted the Israeli port of Ashdod with drones, following days of confirming its shelling of Ashdod Port in Israel with drones, noting that Ashdod Port is approximately 1000 kilometres away from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
IRI had previously warned the US that they would increase armed operations in response to "Washington's continued military assistance to the Israeli army, which kills civilians in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon."
UKRAINE
On the back of Vladimir Putin’s inevitable victory in Russia’s presidential election, the Kremlin has said that it’s looking at plans to create a so-called “buffer zone” in Ukrainian territory close to the border.
While anything other than another term for President Putin would have been unthinkable, Moscow is now having to confront the threat of constant Ukrainian strikes on its own territory, and especially its critical energy sector.
This, in addition to cross-border incursions by pro-Ukrainian forces that are more robust than they have been in the past, are examples of how things are becoming more complicated on the home front.
The idea of a buffer zone to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks was raised by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, [pictured above] who explained to reporters:
“Against the backdrop of drone attacks and the shelling of our territory — public facilities, residential buildings — measures must be taken to secure these territories. They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range.”
Clearly, such an ambition is entirely unrealistic, at this point, given the fact that Ukraine has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to use long-range drones to attack Russian targets as far away as Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Russian oil infrastructure has been subject to extensive attacks by Ukrainian drones in recent weeks and has had a major impact. Among recent targets have been oil facilities in Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Ryazan, and Samara.
Nevertheless, there has been growing concern in Russia about the much more concerted attacks aimed against its border areas, especially in the Belgorod region, which has come under regular attack — including by artillery and rockets — since 2022.
Attacks on Belgorod were stepped up in the run-up to the Russian election and today the local governor said that another two people had been killed and four more injured by Ukrainian shelling. The latest strikes reportedly happened in the village of Nikolskoye.
After winning [well, he who counts the votes wins?] his fifth term as president, Putin also referenced the possibility of establishing a buffer zone:
“I do not exclude that, bearing in mind the tragic events taking place today, that we will be forced at some point, when we deem it appropriate, to create a certain ‘sanitary zone’ in the territories today under the Kyiv regime,” he said.
Putin added that such a zone might have to be big enough to stop foreign-made weapons from striking Russian territory.
Putin unleashes 'Dagger' hypersonic missiles on Kyiv injuring 17 just hours before arrival of NATO chiefs - as Zelenskyy pleads for more weapons from the West
Russia carried out its largest attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, firing more than 30 missiles at Kyiv early Thursday, after Putin vowed retribution for escalating strikes on Russia's border regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the West to deliver air defence systems after the attacks, which wounded 17 in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 31 Russian missiles fired towards Kyiv
WORLD NEWS BRIEFING - with Tom Hughes and Bill Forliano - 21 March 2024
Israel Report
Israel Report is always informative and exciting to read. Today's offering is no exception. However, reading between the lines, it is easy to see that the world of non-Jews believe that Netenyahu was lying when he said Rafah would be under siege by Ramadan. Since that hasn't happened, and Blinken and the UN seem determined to allow Israel to be destroyed, I would not like to be in Israel when the Feast of Esther takes place. Muslims are famous for using Jewish holy days for their attacks and this year will probably be the worst.