The American abstention in the UN seems to have had the expected result. Hamas has moved back to more extreme demands for hostage release. Israel and the US still claim to be hopeful for some kind of deal. I’m not so optimistic. IDF troops are still returning to search hospitals for a second time. After … More Gaza War 28 Mar
Apart from an excess of media commentary about US Israeli relations, nothing is really happening in Gaza. IDF troops are revisiting several schools and hospitals because Hamas has returned to them. One terrorist called them Hamas safe havens, a refuge from Israeli attack. The operations in As-Shifa hospital have been conducted with great care to … More Gaza War 27 Mar
The relations between Israel and the US hit a speed bump. It isn’t a major break. It does, however, reflect differences in how the two sides view the Gaza War. The Americans want to control the war, and limit Israeli operations. All this really does is show up the poor understanding of the US government … More Gaza War 26 Mar
One definition of insanity is to perform the same actions again and again and expect a different result. That definition makes the UN an insane organization because it’s been doing the same thing or 75 years. The Arabs have been ignoring the part of the many resolutions that call for negotiations with Israel after a … More Gaza War 25 Mar
Cognitive Dissonance is a term I’ve mentioned before. It’s the uncomfortable feeling you have when you realize that you are expressing belief in two mutually incompatible ideas. It’s the way US VP Kamala Harris should feel when she says that an Israeli ground operation in Rafah would be a big mistake. The US government knows … More Gaza War 24 Mar
We are in a tragic era. Yesterday, the guards at the gate to our village shot and killed a man in his 60’s. No one, so far, has a reasonable explanation for why. The man was an Arab from Hebron who had converted to Judaism. He had a kitchen knife in his bag. But that … More Gaza War 22 Mar
The US is still trying to convince Israel that it really is in Israel’s best interest to accept the Hamas proposals for a cease-fire and hostage exchange. This would appear to be primarily because the Americans view Hamas as a partner in the process. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that Hamas is a … More Gaza War 21 Mar
The Canadian parliament created a real tempest in a teapot last night, They voted to approve allow. Let’s be clear. There is nothing in this resolution to change Canadian policy regarding Israel except to call for not sending arms to Israel from Canada. Israeli purchases of military equipment in Canada are all done from private … More Gaza War 20 Mar
The hostage release talks are still on. While they continue, it looks like Israel has put a de facto hold on a planned move to go after Hamas in Rafah. Part of the Hamas strategy has been to drag out such negotiations and to have the actual temporary cease-fire evolve into a permanent one. This … More Gaza War 19 Mar
I was surprised today to hear that IDF forces had re-entered the Shifa hospital in Gaza. The raid resulted in a gunfight inside the hospital between IDF troops and some Hamas terrorists. I don’t know how the Hamas people got back inside, but the fact that tey did so is not as big a surprise … More Gaza War 18 Mar
Wetherhorn 