Blinken's Israel Trip Ends in an Utter Disaster as Hamas Spits him in the face

 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing any major breakthrough for a cease-fire deal, warning on Tuesday that “time is of the essence” even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.

After meetings in fellow mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, Blinken said that because Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps with the Hamas group, the focus turns to doing everything possible to “get Hamas on board” and ensure both sides agree to key details on implementation.

“Our message is simple. It’s clear and it’s urgent,” he told reporters before leaving Qatar. “We need to get a cease-fire and hostage agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now. Time is of the essence.”

Few details have been released about the so-called bridging proposal put forth by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. Blinken said it is “very clear on the schedule and the locations of (Israeli military) withdrawals from Gaza.”

Hamas earlier Tuesday called the latest proposal a reversal of what it had agreed to, accusing the U.S. of acquiescing to new conditions from Israel. There was no immediate U.S. response to that.

Blinken’s comments on ending his latest Israel-Hamas peace mission were notably bare of the optimism that Biden administration officials expressed going into his trip, and earlier.

The upbeat tone through much of the spring and summer — with U.S. officials at times describing a cease-fire and hostage deal as nearer than ever — reflected necessary messaging, at least in part, said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Program.

“If they don’t project optimism then it won’t create … even the potential for sufficient momentum to keep things going,” Panikoff said.

Americans have little alternative to continuing to push Israel and Hamas to agree to a negotiated end to fighting, but it’s fundamentally about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped mastermind the Oct. 7 attacks, Panikoff said. And they are “the two people that have been, frankly, most skeptical from the beginning” about making peace.

Blinken’s meetings in Egypt, which borders Gaza, and in Qatar, which hosts some Hamas leaders in exile, came a day after he met Netanyahu. Wide gaps appeared to remain between Israel and Hamas, though angry statements often serve as pressure tactics during negotiations.

Both men have seen their political standing rise at home, as Israelis turn their attention from the war in Gaza to a threatened wider conflict with Iran and Hamas stabilizing a little with Sinwar now at the helm, lessening pressure on them to close a deal, Panikoff said.

Israeli Leftists Turning Right

 

 

Kamala Meeting Her Designated Secretary of State!

 

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With the Worlds Population 8 Billion and Jews 0.2% They Still make the biggest Impact

 

Emotional Reunion: Lone Soldier from Argentina Reunites with His Mother at Nahal Beret Ceremony After a Year Apart

 

The United Nations Needs to be Dismantled Now!

 

Chareidie Boys from Beit Shemesh including a Gerer Chasid Enlist into the Army to be Givati and Paratroopers

 

Charedie Boys from Beit Shemesh are on their way to be  Givati ​​and paratroopers ▪︎ 

The program called "Tachlis" has successfully recruited them

Ari Rushatsky, a Gerer Chasid and a resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh IV, is currently enlisting in the paratroopers along with about 120 other ultra-Orthodox young men, as part of the 'Tachals' program.

Watch him talk and the fascinating video clip  about the program that succeeded where the IDF failed.

החרדים מבית שמש בדרך לגבעתי ולצנחנים ▪︎ התוכנית שמצליחה במקום שבו צה"ל נכשל

 ארי רושצקי חסיד גור ותושב רמת בית שמש ד', מתגייס בימים אלו לצנחנים יחד עם עוד כ-120 בחורים חרדים, במסגרת תכנית 'תכלס'. 

צפו בדבריו ובסיקור המרתק אודות התכנית שמצליחה במקום בו צה"ל כשל.

IDF confirms it retrieved bodies of 6 hostages from Gaza, including previously unnamed Alex Dancyg

In a rapid and dramatic operation, the IDF recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from southern Gaza overnight, marking the quickest such mission amid the ongoing war.  The 98th Division expanded its operation in Khan Younis on Sunday, achieving "operational control" over a neighborhood by early Monday. Acting on precise intelligence, combat engineersh located a 10-meter deep tunnel where Hamas had hidden the hostages' bodies behind a false wall.  Within 24 hours, the elite Yahalom unit and Shin Bet operatives breached the tunnel’s defenses, uncovering the remains alongside weapons and explosives.  The mission followed intense fighting, during which several Hamas guards were killed. The bodies of both the hostages and the dead terrorists were brought back to Israel for identification.

 The Israel Defense Forces confirms that it has recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during an overnight operation in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The hostages are Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.

Dancyg and Buchshtav had been confirmed dead by the IDF in late July, while Peri, Metzger and Popplewell were declared dead by the army in early June. The five were believed to have been killed in Khan Younis in early 2024, although the causes of death were not known.

Munder had not been previously declared dead by the IDF, although the army had some information that led it to have concerns for his wellbeing.

With the bodies recovered, the IDF says it will continue to investigate the causes of death, including the possibility that the hostages were killed by Israeli fire.

The IDF says it had accurate intelligence that allowed troops with the 98th Division and members of the Shin Bet security agency to reach a tunnel in Khan Younis and recover the bodies, amid a new offensive in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.

Munder, Dancyg, Peri and Metzger were all abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, while Buchshtav and Popplewell were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nirim.

It is now believed that 105 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued alive by troops, and the bodies of 30 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

CNN slams ‘nearly invisible’ Kamala Harris: ‘She has had a free ride’

 

CNN host Michael Smerconish threw cold water on Democrats’ enthusiasm for their “nearly invisible” nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, warning that she isn’t “indestructible” and will eventually be “held accountable” for her record and policy positions.

Smerconish took aim at Harris on Saturday for refusing to subject herself to tough questioning from reporters about what she would do as president since she was handed the nomination last month.

“Kamala Harris is not indestructible,” the former Republican and talk radio host said on his weekend CNN program Saturday, adding that the vice president was getting a “free ride.”

“She has served as an undistinguished, nearly invisible vice president.”

Smerconish noted that “there appears no accomplishment she can point to for her most important responsibility, addressing the origin of the border crisis.”

His comments were reported by the news site Mediaite.

“Thus far, Harris has had a free ride,” Smerconish said. “She hasn’t given any media interviews, hasn’t faced voter questioning.”

The host noted that Harris pledged to give an interview with the press by the end of the month, adding: “She said that on August the 8th!”

Smerconish called out Harris for reversing her positions on several issues, including “health care, fracking, weed and the death penalty.”

He also said Harris would soon need to answer for an economic agenda that has so far been met with “mixed reviews.”

“Sooner or later, she’s going to be held accountable and face pressure that she has thus far largely avoided,” Smerconish said.

Smerconish also called for greater scrutiny of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who may turn out “to have as many warts as [Ohio Sen.] JD Vance.”

He cited a recent CNN report that found that Walz’s 2006 campaign for a congressional seat made false statements about details of his 1995 arrest for drunk and reckless driving.

The Post has sought comment from the Harris-Walz campaign.

CNN’s Smerconish: Kamala Harris Has Had a ‘Free Ride’ from the Media; ‘She Has Served as an Undistinguished, Nearly Invisible Vice President’ pic.twitter.com/CSoB9AlSI9

— Alexandra Datig | Front Page Index 🇺🇸 (@alexdatig) August 17, 2024

Monsey Area Pro-Hamas imam calls on Allah to ‘destroy the Zionist Jews’ in hate-filled sermon

 

A Rockland County mosque has apologized for hateful statements made by a pro-Hamas imam earlier this month — including calling for the destruction of “Zionist Jews.”

The guest imam delivered the sermon on Aug. 9 at the Islamic Center of Rockland County, in Valley Cottage, touting that Hamas was winning the war in Gaza.

“Oh Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews,” said the imam, who was not identified, according to a translation by Memri TV.

“Oh Allah, seize them with a crushing grip,” he added, saying Hamas will win because of their faith.

With video spreading of the imam’s hateful rhetoric, local Jewish groups and elected officials called on the Islamic center to respond to the statements made in their mosque.

“On August 9, during a sermon at our masjid, a guest imam (prayer leader) delivered several hurtful statements that included a prayer to God for the destruction of Zionist Jews as part of the conflict in Gaza,” the group said in a statement.

“We unequivocally condemn these statements,” they added. “We sincerely apologize for any pain caused by these remarks and will ensure that our platform is not used to promote these types of harmful messages going forward.”

The Jewish Federation and Foundation of Rockland County said it was shocked by the message at their neighbor’s mosque, calling on the community to unite against the “inflammatory and threatening ideas.”

“There is no room for hateful, violent speech like this,” Jewish Federation CEO Ari Rosenblum said.

“It is more than alarming; it is threatening to the overwhelming majority of our community who identify with the self-determination of the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland.”

Rosenblum said the situation was especially heartbreaking given that the mosque has often been a partner with local synagogues in the past.

US Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-R) also called on the mosque to condemn the “disturbing, violent, and antisemitic rhetoric” made by the imam.

“That is totally unacceptable anywhere, but especially so in Rockland County,” he said, referencing the county’s large Jewish community.

Scott Richman, the regional director of the New York and New Jersey Anti-Defamation League, warned that such hateful speeches in the tri-state area and around the world “only fuels hatred and divides neighbors but can lead to harmful real world consequences.”