GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 124

Banging The Same Old Drum

Mostly Good Things To Say

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Tel Aviv and made some statements about the war and was right more than he was wrong as we read in this article from The Times Of Israel:

“Israel must do more to help civilians, knowing full well that it faces an enemy that would never meet those standards,” says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a Tel Aviv press conference, adding that Hamas embeds itself among civilians and fires rockets from hospitals, mosques and schools.

He calls Hamas “an enemy whose leaders surround themselves with hostages,” and says it is “an enemy that has declared publicly its goal to kill as many innocent civilians as it can, simply because they’re Jews, and to wipe Israel off the map.”

“Israel is fully justified in confronting Hamas and other terrorist organizations,” Blinken says.

The overall tenor of his statements like this one are correct, but in his speech he threw in subtle and not so subtle jabs at Israel about how they are treating what Blinken calls innocent Palestinians:

Nonetheless, he now uses caustic language to upbraid Israel on its conduct of the war in Gaza.

“Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7,” he says. “The hostages have been dehumanized every day since, but that cannot be a license to dehumanize others.”

“The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of October 7,” he maintains, adding that they are “just like our families.”

This constant drumbeat of how Israel is somehow dehumanizing the people of Gaza isn’t based on actions both before and after the attacks. Blinken and anyone accusing Israel of not treating citizens humanely must be followed with concrete examples. To date, the comments never come with them. Usually the critics will point to letting humanitarian aid in which Israel is doing, but once it leaves the IDF it is held up by Hamas, not Israel. There are videos showing theses terrorists taking the supplies from the people and in some cases simply hijacking the trucks and repurposing them for themselves. How about making statements addressing that? I’ll wait, but I doubt I’ll hear any statements doing that.

It's Pretty Obvious

At least it should be obvious if one looks at things objectively and not through the lens of how bad these Gazans have had it since 2005. It might sound harsh, but the poor living conditions aren’t because of lack of money. Here is how one article details the amount of money given to them:

Following the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993, an international conference was held in Washington to assure the financial solvency of the newly-established Palestinian National Authority (PA). Key goals at the time included financing economic development in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, contributing to stability in the Middle East, and introducing liberalized markets while also working to sustain democratic institutions and protect human rights. According to figures compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, aid to Palestinians amounted to more than $40 billion between 1994 and 2020. The largest portion of this assistance (35.4 percent) went to support the PA budget, while the rest was allocated to various services and economic sectors in the Palestinian territories.

So $14 billion went to run the government? Really? These Palestinians are receiving more aid per capita than any other nation getting foreign aid. Israel is providing them free water services and electricity and supplies to build their own infrastructure but we know that Hamas took the materials and used them to build weapons which are then used against Israel. And we know about the vast and complicated tunnels which we know cost a great deal to build and maintain. Why are these people so poor then? Why won’t the media investigate this issue? We could complain about the land given to them and how difficult it is to grow on and convert to usable living and business spaces, but Israel proves that it can be done and would help if their Hamas-ruled leadership wanted to do it. And we must remember that the Gaza Strip was prospering when Israelis lived there. And Israel employed about 40% of the Palestinians on a daily basis before the war. They are in bad living conditions because Hamas keeps the vast majority of the aid for itself. But as we noted, the Palestinian Authority (PA) did the same thing when they were in charge.

More Money Received

Just to underscore that money is getting to Hamas, the IDF discovered $150 million earmarked for the terrorist group as we see in an article from i24news.com:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson revealed a significant development regarding the funding of Hamas, stating that more than $150 million was transferred from Iran to the militant group.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari disclosed this information on Tuesday evening, shedding light on the extent of financial support provided to Hamas by Iran.

Hagari added how the money was being used:

According to Hagari, the funds were utilized by Hamas to sustain its operations underground, emphasizing the group's investment in fortifying its infrastructure beneath Gaza. He stated, "They invested this money to survive underground," highlighting Hamas' strategic use of financial resources to maintain its capabilities amid ongoing conflicts with Israel.

Furthermore, Hagari underscored the global implications of Iran's support for terrorism, describing it as a pressing concern that extends beyond the Middle East region. He emphasized the IDF's efforts to share intelligence information with international partners to address this threat and called for verification of the reported financial transactions.

The disclosure comes in the wake of recent military operations in Gaza, during which IDF soldiers uncovered significant amounts of cash intended for Hamas. Hagari revealed that IDF personnel located tables detailing payments to Hamas from Tehran between 2014 and 2020, providing further evidence of Iran's financial backing for the militant group.

Even more evidence of Iran’s financial backing was also found:

In addition to the substantial funds transferred from Iran, IDF soldiers discovered bags filled with hundred-shekel bills destined for Hamas, as well as cash envelopes containing tens of thousands of dollars designated for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar himself.

So money is available, but only for supporting terrorists.