You may have noticed in my last 2 posts that there is something missing in the UN approach to maintaining peace. The only use of force allowed is for self-defense. There is no penalty for an aggressor using violence other than the failure of the attempt. This idea was also present in the League of … More Gaza War 5 Sep

Last week I mentioned a lot of UN ‘failures’. To be fair, most UN operations are devoted to the idea of maintaining world peace and security (and also protecting human rights and providing humanitarian aid). The UN has had some success. But NO UN forces are empowered to engage in any military activity other than … More Gaza War 4 Sep

The UN was created as an organization primarily to help resolve conflicts without resorting to war. The League of Nations was created after the First World War with similar aims. Obviously, the League of Nations was a failure. The UN does not have a very good record in this regard, either. It has been powerless … More Gaza War 3 Sep

There is a massive popular 34 hour strike today by a VERY large part of the population. Tel Aviv is more affected than many outlying areas (local schools in Gush Etzion, where I live, are not affected). It’s all in response to the murder of the 6 kidnap victims whose bodies were just recovered. The … More Gaza War 2 Sep

A couple of days ago I mentioned the IDF operating on the West Bank. The need for this was really clear yesterday. Arabs from Hevron made two attacks in Gush Etzion yesterday, and another this morning. The first was a car bomb that exploded near the gas station at the Etzion junction (about 2 miles … More Gaza War 1 Sep

The IDF released details about another Hamas propaganda technique. A Palestinian Polling Firm that had regularly conducted surveys about many subjects within the Palestinian community, sometimes on the West Bank, sometimes within Gaza, and sometimes both, has kept documented records showing that the results of their polls were altered prior to release to the public. … More Gaza War 30 Aug

Israeli forces brought home another kidnap victim yesterday. After freeing Bedouin watchman Elkadi the IDF also located the grave of an Israeli killed on 7 Oct whose body had been carried off to Gaza. Both events are just small scenes from the continued IDF pressure on Hamas. There are still over 100 hostages in Hamas … More Gaza War 29 Aug

IDF forces conducted several operations in the West Bank following the attempt by terrorists to attack a bus in the eastern part of Gush Etzion.  Aljazeera (which is hard for me to see since the Israeli government closed them down inside Israel) reports some 9 Palestinians were killed in a series of clashes. It looks … More Gaza War 28 Aug

IDF forces today rescued  Qaid Farhan Elkadi  in Gaza. Elkadi was kidnapped on 7 Oct.  He is a Bedouin resident of the Israeli. town of Rahat and  was working as a watchman in a Kibbutz,  Another Bedouin watchman was kidnapped that night, along with three of  his children. Two of them were released in an … More Gaza War 27 Aug

Yesterday I concluded with a statement that defense doesn’t win the war .Just what that means in the case of the current Israel-Hezbollah face-off is becoming clear. Both sides sent messages to each other affirming that they were not interested in an expanded conflict.  Nasrallah made a speech stating that he views the response to … More Gaza War 26 Aug