Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Friday that the current conflict in the Gaza Strip shows the importance of keeping control of the West Bank.
In a strongly worded statement, Netanyahu took several world leaders to task including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for their insistence that Israel give up control of the West Bank for a Palestinian State.
Netanyahu said that the fact Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip into a “terrorist bunker” shows that any land given up by Israel will just be used by Islamic terrorist groups to launch attacks upon Israel.
“I think the Israeli people understand now what I always say: that there cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan,” he said. “I told John Kerry and General Allen, the Americans’ expert: We live here, I live here, I know what we need to ensure the security of Israel’s people.”
Netanyahu noted that the West Bank is 20 times the size of Gaza and said the last thing Israel needs is “to create another 20 Gazas.”
Netanyahu also noted the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt that the Egyptians have sealed up to keep the terrorists from moving through their country.
“If we were to pull out of Judea and Samaria, like they tell us to, there’d be a possibility of thousands of tunnels,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli ambassador to the United States says that his country cannot sit by and be passive while Hamas rains down rockets upon its citizens.
Ambassador Ido Aharoni told Fox News that his country will remain on high alert and that air strikes will continue because of the increased hostility toward Israel from the terrorist group Hamas.
“Hamas’ decision to escalate the situation puts us in a very difficult and unpleasant position,” said Aharoni. “We have to respond in a swift and comprehensive fashion because we are looking at a century-old Arab onslaught on Jewish national sovereignty in the land of Israel – that didn’t start yesterday.”
Aharoni said that Israel’s cabinet is currently debating a plan to send troops into the Gaza Strip to root out Hamas’ leadership and networks.
“One thing for sure we understand: We are in it for the long run, the goal of Operation Protective Edge, named for the offensive [against Hamas], is to bring about stability, calm and quiet to Israel’s southern and central region,” he said.
He said that Hamas has about 12,000 rockets in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defense Forces struck over 320 Hamas terror sites in the Gaza Strip overnight bringing the total to 750 in the last three days. The sites struck were mainly rocket launcher sites and areas connected to the terrorist organization’s tunnel system.
The strikes come as Israeli intelligence stopped an attempt by Hamas terrorists to sneak a bomb into Israel. Authorities stopped a car with Palestinian plates at a checkpoint and discovered the bomb inside. The suspects were arrested and admitted they were planning to carry out an attack on civilians.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters the situation is at a crisis level.
“This is one of the most critical tests the region has faced in recent years,” he said. “Gaza is on a knife-edge. The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get beyond anyone’s control.”
Palestinians have been trying to claim that Israel is targeting civilians but the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. told reporters that Hamas has taken to hiding in civilian homes and businesses to try and avoid retribution for their activities. One Hamas headquarters is located within a working hospital.
Whatever we are going to do for Christ, NOW is the time to do it. Israel is God’s Time Clock and the alarm is telling us we are seeing earth-shaking events. The news is filled with reports of rocket barrages into and out of Israel.
Israel is surrounded by her enemies, just as the Bible says that they would be in the Last Days.
The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. Luke 19:43 NIV Continue reading →
The White House coordinator for the Middle East is blasting Israel, saying they’re to blame for the ongoing violence in the region.
Philip Gordon, a special assistant to President Obama, took multiple shots at Israel while at the same time claiming to be the country’s strongest defender.
“Israel confronts an undeniable reality: It cannot maintain military control of another people indefinitely. Doing so is not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recurring instability,” Gordon said. “It will embolden extremists on both sides, tear at Israel’s democratic fabric and feed mutual dehumanization.”
Gordon called Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas a “proven…reliable partner” and singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for criticism because he would not restart negotiations with the Palestinians.
“How will Israel remain democratic and Jewish if it attempts to govern the millions of Palestinian Arabs who live in the West Bank?” Gordon continued. “How will it have peace if it’s unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation and allow for Palestinian sovereignty, security and dignity? How will we prevent other states from supporting Palestinian efforts in international bodies, if Israel is not seen as committed to peace?”
Gordon’s speech in Israel is the first time a senior White House official had addressed the Israeli people directly since President Obama’s visit in March 2013.
Officials say that half of the Israeli population is in bomb shelters because of ongoing rocket attacks in central Israel by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. The terrorist group has declared in a public statement “all Israelis have now become legitimate targets.”
The leaders of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem opened their city’s public bomb shelters because of the level of the attacks. Officials also told residents to open and prepare their private bomb shelters for the possibility of a prolonged assault.
An Iron Dome battery was able to successfully shoot down an incoming rocket over Tel Aviv. Hamas announced they had fired four rockets at the capital but there was no evidence of three more rockets impacting in the city.
According to the Israeli Defense Force, over 120 rockets struck within the Israeli borders during the night. Iron Dome destroyed 23 rockets in Ashdod, Ashkelon and communities along the Gaza border.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev told reporters that Israel had reached out to the terrorist group in an attempt to de-escalate the situation and found that the terrorist group was not interested in ending the current conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called world leaders to tell them their position that they could not sit by and allow their country to be attacked by a terrorist organization and not respond to their provocation.
Islamic terrorist group Hamas attempted to send a group of terrorists inside the Israeli border to launch attacks from inside the country.
The Israeli Defense Forces drove back the terror squad that was attempting to sneak into the country north of the Gaza Strip from the ocean. The IDF exchanged gunfire with the group and killed at least four of the terrorists whose bodies were left on the beach.
Israeli officials say that the current assault, Operation Protective Edge, could continue for a significant length of time.
“It won’t end in a day and it won’t end in two days. It will take time,” Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the country’s Cabinet minister for internal security, told Israeli TV.
Israel has called up 40,000 more troops to be deployed throughout the country to prevent another group from attempting to take advantage of Hamas’ current actions and launch another assault on Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu alluded to the possibility of other attacks but mainly focused on Hamas an address to his Security Cabinet.
“The army is ready for all possibilities,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing toward Israeli citizens. The security of Israel’s citizens comes first. The operation will expand and continue until the fire toward our towns stops and quiet returns.”
Israeli military officials reported carrying out over 100 airstrikes in the last 24 hours at Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.
The new offensive is part of a potential offensive into the Gaza Strip. Israel has called up over 40,000 troops to the border along the Gaza Strip as military officials continue to meet with senior Israeli ministers.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the Israeli leadership has had enough of dealing with terrorists.
“We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel’s defense forces are currently acting to put an end of this once and for all,” spokesman Mark Regev told Fox News.
The movements and air strikes, called “Operation Protective Edge”, reportedly plans to continue air strikes at Hamas positions over the next several weeks.
Hamas has fired nearly 300 rockets into Israel over the last few weeks including 100 on Monday. The attacks come amid increased tensions after the terrorist group kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers.
Palestinians threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli police and military after the body of a Palestinian teen was found in the Jerusalem forest.
The rioting teens blocked Jerusalem’s light rail service and were driven back when Israeli defense forces responded to their assaults by firing rubber bullets at rock throwers.
Israeli investigators say they were called with a report of an Arab teen that was forced into a car and that a partially burned body was found in the woods a few hours later but say there is no evidence connecting the incidents, if a teen was actually forced into a car.
The investigators also say there is no evidence the dead teen was killed by Israelis and assert that it could be an attempt by Palestinian terror groups to deflect attention from the kidnapping and brutal murder of three Israeli teenagers by the terrorist group Hamas.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that authorities used tear gas on some of the protesters and that security in the area has been heightened. Police have also closed holy sites in the Old City to visitors because of rock throwing Palestinian youths.
A slim majority of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s general assembly has shown their lack of support for Israel by voting to sell any stock with companies that do business with Israel.
The 310-303 vote to sell stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions came two years after a similar proposal was rejected by only two votes. The people who supported the move claim the vote is only against companies that help Israel build homes in the Palestinian territories, showing they support Palestinian claims over Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League and other groups that support Israel met the group’s action with immediate criticism.
“The claim by the PC(USA) that it does not support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is simply not reflected in this resolution and the overall tone of the discussions,” The ADL said. “[The measure is] driven by hatred of Israel.”
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs said the decision will have a “devastating impact” on the denomination’s relations with Jewish groups.
“We hold the leadership of the PCUSA accountable for squandering countless opportunities, not only to act responsibly to advance prospects for Middle East peace but also to isolate and repudiate the radical, prejudiced voices in their denomination,” the council said in a statement.
