Middle East tensions are mounting.....also to include latest Gaza news.....

[Tidewater]

Here is a (slightly) hopeful sign.

Palestinians beginning to blame Hamas publicly.
If they have not been subsequently killed by Hamas for disloyalty (or sanity, depending on you perspective), these Palestinians should connect the dots between "Hamas brought this on us" and calling the Israeli tip line so the IDF can come and round up the murderers. Problem solved.
It is one thing to gripe to the media about Hamas. Now do something about it. When Hamas is gone, the fighting stops and reconstruction begins.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in Israel-Hamas fighting

The warrant was issued to Netanyahu, his former defense minister Gallant, and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes.

apnews.com

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.

The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a cease-fire to end the fighting. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and two of the Hamas officials were killed in the conflict.

Are these people serious or is this some sort of political stunt? It's hard to tell with the ICC.

 

[Tidewater]

Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in Israel-Hamas fighting

The warrant was issued to Netanyahu, his former defense minister Gallant, and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes.

apnews.com

Are these people serious or is this some sort of political stunt? It's hard to tell with the ICC.

Count the number of states with an Arab or Muslim majotity.
Then count the number of states with a Jewish majority.
Compare the two numbers.

 

[Tidewater]

Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in Israel-Hamas fighting

The warrant was issued to Netanyahu, his former defense minister Gallant, and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes.

apnews.com

Are these people serious or is this some sort of political stunt? It's hard to tell with the ICC.

I looked at the ICC's web page about the warrants.
The ICC ruled it had jurisdiction (No surprise) even though Israel is not a party to the ICC and denies the ICC has jurisdiction.
"The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations." (Shocker!)
The ICC ruled that Netanyahu and Gallant "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024."
"The decisions allowing or increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza were often conditional ... not made to fulfil Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law ... [but] were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America."
"no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations."
"The Chamber therefore found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare."

The Israeli site "Gaza Humanitarian Aid" shows that 1.1 million tons of aid have been delivered to Gaza since the war started. It breaks the aid down by type, origin, manner of delivery. The lowest food aid tonnage months were October and November at ~25,000 tons of food.

 

[Bamaro]

Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in Israel-Hamas fighting

The warrant was issued to Netanyahu, his former defense minister Gallant, and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes.

apnews.com

Are these people serious or is this some sort of political stunt? It's hard to tell with the ICC.

I believe they previously did the same for Putin. 🤷‍♂️

 

[CrimsonJazz]

I believe they previously did the same for Putin. 🤷‍♂️

They sure did. I expect the same results.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Those anti-Semites!

Rabbinical group calls for stopping offensive military aid to Israel

(RNS) — Israel continues to block the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. A group of American rabbis says the U.S. should refuse sending Israel more offensive munitions.

religionnews.com

A rabbinic human rights organization has signed on to a statement calling for an end to offensive military aid to Israel in light of the country’s continued blocking of humanitarian aid to the ravaged Gaza Strip.

The group, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, made clear it does not favor an end to all military aid. It still supports defensive military aid to Israel, such as the Iron Dome, the missile shields that intercept short-range rockets.

But at this time, it is opposed to further offensive weapons such as those decimating the Gaza Strip, where to date more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed with bombs and munitions that have helped to flatten the enclave and left tens of thousands homeless.


“Offensive weapons are keeping the war going, causing horrific damage to Palestinians,” Rabbi Jill Jacobs, T’ruah’s chief executive, told RNS. “It’s not keeping Israelis safe, certainly not getting the hostages back.”

 

[Tidewater]

Those anti-Semites!

Rabbinical group calls for stopping offensive military aid to Israel

(RNS) — Israel continues to block the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. A group of American rabbis says the U.S. should refuse sending Israel more offensive munitions.

religionnews.com

I know you are mocking the argument, not making the argument, but it always bugs me when folks hide behind the protected group and argue, "If you criticize the Israeli government, it must be because you hate Jews." No, it is possible that those criticizing Israeli policy simply disagree with the policy, and Jew-hatred never enters into it.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Exclusive | Controversial Muslim nonprofit CAIR once ‘linked to Hamas’ must reveal donors after ex-employee claims it accepts foreign funding

US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled Monday that CAIR’s donors, funding sources – including potentially foreign ones – and any assets owned by the group are all within the “scope of permissible …

nypost.com

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will be forced to open its books and reveal its sources of funding after a defamation suit it filed against a former employee completely backfired.

US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled Monday that CAIR’s donors, funding sources — potentially including foreign ones — and any assets owned by the group are all within the “scope of permissible discovery” as part of former chapter leader Lori Saroya’s lawsuit against the controversial Muslim rights group.

Saroya filed a federal defamation complaint against CAIR in January after the group dropped its own lawsuit against the former employee, which accused her of embarking on a “defamation campaign” against the organization, including by implying that CAIR is funded by foreign governments and terrorist organizations.

I hope the DOJ is paying attention to this. If Hamas appears anywhere in these books, the reaction could be utterly seismic.

 

[Tidewater]

Exclusive | Controversial Muslim nonprofit CAIR once ‘linked to Hamas’ must reveal donors after ex-employee claims it accepts foreign funding

US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled Monday that CAIR’s donors, funding sources – including potentially foreign ones – and any assets owned by the group are all within the “scope of permissible …

nypost.com

I hope the DOJ is paying attention to this. If Hamas appears anywhere in these books, the reaction could be utterly seismic.

I guarantee you Hamas will never show up in their book. It will be listed as "Habas" and they will say it was from Arthur Habas, the famous Lebanese businessman and philanthropist.
Or, more likely, it will be funneled through six different front organizations which have an innocuous-sounding purpose (We want to make everyone's lives better.") but actually goes for more nefarious purposes.
Money is the most fungible of commodities.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

I guarantee you Hamas will never show up in their book. It will be listed as "Habas" and they will say it was from Arthur Habas, the famous Lebanese businessman and philanthropist.
Or, more likely, it will be funneled through six different front organizations which have an innocuous-sounding purpose (We want to make everyone's lives better.") but actually goes for more nefarious purposes.
Money is the most fungible of commodities.

It is with great sadness that I must agree here. Still, if just one link can be made, it could change everything. CAIR is an obscenity like most other special interest groups.

 

[Tidewater]

It is with great sadness that I must agree here. Still, if just one link can be made, it could change everything. CAIR is an obscenity like most other special interest groups.

If you are looking for linkages to Hamas, look no further than UNRWA, the UN agency that deals with Palestinians in Gaza. Direct financial support to terrorist comes from UNRWA, and the US funds it through its UN dues.

 

[AWRTR]

If you are looking for linkages to Hamas, look no further than UNWRA, the UN agency that deals with Palestinians in Gaza. Direct financial support to terrorist comes from UNWRA, and the US funds it through its UN dues.

The UN building should be bulldozed and then salt the earth.

 

[Tidewater]

The UN building should be bulldozed and then salt the earth.

Well, we created it and now we have to live with it.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Well, we created it and now we have to live with it.

Now wait just one darn minute, I didn't vote for that. 😁

 

[crimsonaudio]

It feels like the Middle East is falling apart.

 

[JDCrimson]

Will Damascus fall before Tulsi Gabvard has a chance to prop up Assad?

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Assad has fled and Syria has fallen. Great, even more immigrants will be headed to Europe soon. Sigh…

 

[crimsonaudio]

Assad has fled and Syria has fallen. Great, even more immigrants will be headed to Europe soon. Sigh…

I don't care - if Europe wants it, they can have it. Or if they don't want it, they can stop it.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

I don't care - if Europe wants it, they can have it. Or if they don't want it, they can stop it.

Let’s hope recent events indicate a level of testicular fortitude heretofore unknown by the commoners. They, like us, have allowed their respective governments to ignore the will of the people for far too long. If most of Europe turns into a third-world craphole, it could eventually turn into a problem for us.