For those who do not follow the ebb and flow of radical Islam in the region of Mid-East and North Africa the discussion of the current conflict in Gaza can be a little confusing.
The confusion is made worse because old paradigms of previous conflict are no longer present.   The political rise of the extremist elements represented by the various affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood -like Hamas- has totally changed the landscape.
Those hippie Brangelina, Bono leftists who historically, and insufferably, jump to defend the Palestinian cause because it’s the hipster thing to do, are oblivious to the new challenges of the Palestinian Authority – who themselves are no longer comfortable with the extremists of the Brotherhood/Hamas.
But that doesn’t stop the college idiots from donning the customary Palestinian Keffieh, sunglasses and hipster swag en route to the next Victoria Secret runway show.   Yeah, the irony totally lost on them.
Wait, what… huh?   I digress.
Perhaps, it’s the same reason why President Obama (and crew), and Secretary Kerry and his hipster #Hashtag Team, are totally disconnected from the current paradigm around Israel and the alliances who support them. (more…)

Gaza City (CNN)at least temporarily.  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday that an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire will begin at 8 a.m. Friday in Gaza (1 a.m. ET).
It will last 72 hours — or three days — “unless extended,” the United Nations and United States said in a joint statement.

“During this time, the forces on the ground will remain in place,” the statement said.   Hamas accepted the cease-fire, a spokesman for the militant fundamentalist Islamic organization texted Thursday.

Speaking to CNN moments after the announcement, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said it came “after careful deliberations with all the parties.”  (read more)

(more…)

Previously three different United Nations run schools in Gaza were found housing Hamas missiles and rockets for use against Israel.   The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)  claimed they had no idea the rockets were there, and no idea how they got there.  Now it is revealed a UN Clinic was built upon an entrance to numerous tunnels used to move weapons around Gaza, and the clinic was booby-trapped with explosives built into the walls of the clinic.   UNRWA is actively collaborating with Hamas.
ISRAEL – New details have emerged about the booby-trapped clinic explosion that killed three IDF Maglan unit soldiers in Gaza earlier this week – Sergeant First Class Matan Gottlieb, 21, from Rishon LeZion; Sergeant First Class Omar Chai, 21, from Savion; and Sergeant First Class Guy Algranati, 20, of Tel Aviv, hy”d.
Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded hospital’s walls themselves, it was cleared for publication Thursday – revealing that the clinic itself was built to mask, and perform, potential acts of terror on the IDF.
Moreover, the clinic was built over tens of terror tunnels, according to the report. (more…)

Reporters in Gaza know exactly where the main Hamas compound is located but they refuse to discuss it because:  a.) they fear retaliation from Hamas, and, b.) the media don’t want to report anything that supports Israel’s contentions.
GAZA – The idea that one of Hamas’ main command bunkers is located beneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is one of the worst-kept secrets of the Gaza war.

So why aren’t reporters in Gaza ferreting it out? The precise location of a large underground bunker equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and housing some part of the leadership of a major terrorist organization beneath a major hospital would seem to qualify as a world-class scoop—the kind that might merit a Pulitzer, or at least a Polk. (more…)

A really odd dynamic surfaces yet again in the realm of the Obama administration’s remarkable list of “firsts”.   President Obama has become the first U.S. administration ever to factually side with radical islamists – like al-Qaeda, ISIS, The Muslim Brotherhood and HAMAS – over the more moderate Arab nations like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Even the Palestinian Authority, yes the Palestinian Authority, was shocked by the Obama/Kerry proposal for Gaza.

For years some people have claimed the Muslim Brotherhood actually has serious influence inside the White House.   Given jaw dropping recent events it seems almost impossible now to refute such a proposition.
(Via Newsweek) American diplomacy in the Middle East in recent days may have failed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, but it has managed to reposition the United States on an unfamiliar side of the region’s complex web of alliances.
Israelis believe US Secretary of State John Kerry’s week-long ceasefire negotiations has firmly placed the US in the camp of Qatar and Turkey, both of which back the militant government of Hamas, while it has sidelined its traditional allies. (more…)

There was, and for many still is, a considerable amount of Stockholm Syndrome type anxiety amid the general population of Israel when it comes to decisions to mount defensive strategies using offensive engagements.
However, even the most dovish of the Israeli population recognized the inherent risk when the IDF began publically exposing the size, scope and intents of the Gaza Tunnels:

With thirty tunnels found and almost seventy entrances it is now apparent that there was a “second Gaza” under the ground – complete with weapons stocks and everything needed for a combined attack on Israel.

Some of the tunnels had storage facilities with IDF-issued uniforms, helmets and shoes, as well as syringes with tranquilizers and handcuffs, ready for kidnapping Israeli citizens and taking them into Gaza.

Some people have asked me how come Israel never saw these tunnels which have exits inside Israeli territory. The answer is that the tunnels are not fully dug. They leave the last 3-6 feet of dirt intact so that there would be no outward sign of a tunnel being there.

The Hamas plan, it now turns out, was to simultaneously dig out of those tunnels the last 3-6 feet and then attack Israel from 30 or 40 tunnels simultaneously, using hundred if not thousands of Hamas terrorists, some dressed as IDF personnel. Such a massive wave of attack, combined with a barrage of rocket fire, could have had a devastating effect on Israel – had it not been for Operation Protective Edge.

Even the doves within Israel recognized they could not simply attempt defense any longer.  Consequently the internal support for the Netanyahu and IDF response has been overwhelming.   Hamas must be left without the potential to create such a network again.  Against this reality Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to his nation:  (more…)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama administration officials were fuming Monday over a torrent of Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest bid to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
In unusually harsh language, officials said the criticism of Kerry could put the relationship between the U.S. and Israel in jeopardy. They also said the personal attacks on Kerry crossed a line and were particularly disappointing at a time of active conflict.
Israeli media commentators have leveled almost nonstop criticism at Kerry in recent days over his attempts to bring Qatar and Turkey — two countries viewed by Israel as strong Hamas supporters — into the cease-fire negotiations. Kerry was also being accused of abandoning some of Israel’s key demands during the negotiations. (more…)

Despite the obfuscations Charlie Rose keeps asking, and ultimately gets to the truth of the matter. Hamas refuses to accept the right of Israel to exist – period.
Hamas believes Israel is “occupying their land”, and what they mean by “their land” is anywhere near or around where Hamas chooses to place themselves. Hamas believes at their core that Israel needs to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth.

How is it possible to find “compromise” with a foundational position that you must be destroyed?

…. and now we know why Kerry was so insistent on a cease fire.  Hamas was getting their asses kicked, they need time to recover and reconstitute.

(TJP)  Operating behind enemy lines in Gaza during the conflict with Hamas, the elite Maglan unit has attacked dozens of terrorists cells that fired on the IDF, destroyed areas used to launch rockets at Israel, and killed and injured 40 terrorists in recent days.
A senior source from the unit revealed that its members have targeted Hamas gunmen waiting in ambush for the IDF’s Ground Forces, striking the threats right before Israeli forces pass by the ambushes.
The Maglan unit has detected and destroyed forward Hamas posts and rocket launchers. It has detected a cross-border underground attack tunnel leading into Israel from Gaza, and found 20 bomb-laden, booby-trapped homes in Gaza. The unit also uncovered a very large quantity of weapons, and enemy intelligence files in raids. (more…)

They needed a poll to determine this?    Most people already knew the anti-Israel crowd was always youngish, stupid, lo-fo, emotional moonbats -ie. Democrats-  without a scientific poll to define.

According to Gallup’s internals, self-identifying Republicans are the primary reason Israel’s actions attract plurality support in this poll.  GOP-leaners back Israel’s actions by a whopping 44-point margin; the numbers turn upside-down among independents (-10), and especially Democrats (-16).  The cohorts least likely to label Israel’s attacks against Hamas as “justified” are young people (-26), non-whites (-24), women (-11), and people with a high school education or less (-11) — namely, the Democratic coalition.
On a not-unrelated note, Americans who are under-informed about the issue tend to break heavily against Israel, whereas those who say they’re following developments at least “somewhat closely” back our democratic ally.  (link)