GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 135

A Widening Gap

US and Israel Drifting Apart

What was once a unified front is turning into a growing gulf between the United States and Israel as we see in a report from CBN.com:

Anyone interested in gauging the growing gulf between Washington and Jerusalem concerning Israel's wartime struggle need only check out a few headlines in Sunday's edition of The Jerusalem Post.

The banner headline on page one above the fold, referring to a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with Hamas, reads, "PM (Benjamin Netanyahu): 'Delusional Demands Make Deal Impossible.'"

Another headline, still above the fold: "Rescued Captives Urge Netanyahu to Push for Deal."

A third front-page headline, another quote from Netanyahu, referring to White House, European and Arab pressure to declare a Palestinian state before the war is resolved: "Israel Won't Submit to International Dictates on Unilateral Statehood."

On page two of the Post, two other headlines: "(US Vice President) Harris Says Two-State Solution for Israel, Palestinians Possible." The sub-headline reads, "VP denounces (Israeli) isolationism in remarks to leaders at Munich parley."

And finally, another Page 2 headline: "Black Bishops to Washington: Halt Israel Amid Genocide.'"

It is rare to see such stark differences developing from close allies, yet this is what all these news sources show us. It wasn’t always this way, but apparently things were emerging even before the October 7th :

Such a coherent message from a set of headlines doesn't normally emerge to present a picture of the stark divisions; but in this case, the diplomatic and media battle for the narrative hanging over the air, ground, and underground conflicts in Gaza and northern Israel is apparent.

Despite the hugs in photo-ops, the White House disdain for Netanyahu was evident even before he returned to Israel's highest office late in 2022. The administration did what it could to benefit his political opponents during the fall, 2022 campaign; and officials from the top down snubbed the prime minister for months after he was elected.

The seeming kumbaya moments right after the attacks appear to be morphing into a mish mash of love/hate days and even weeks. And as the presidential elections get closer Biden and his handlers are not liking losing the young and minority votes in his party that are very antisemitic and pro-Palestinian. They would prefer to take the Israel/Hamas war off the proverbial table, but PM Netanyahu and others don’t see a way to end it that soon.

More Weapons And Medicine Supplies Found

More medical supplies that were supposed to help hostages are found unopened and not refrigerated in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis as we read in an article from i24news.tv:

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet forces executed a strategic mission at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of terrorists and the discovery of a cache of weapons hidden within the hospital premises.

During the operation, a substantial quantity of weapons was seized, with some weapons concealed in a vehicle believed to have been used in previous terrorist attacks. Additionally, a vehicle belonging to Kibbutz Nir Oz, which had apparently been stolen, was recovered from the hospital vicinity.

We read about the medical supplies as well:

IDF forces also discovered un-opened boxes of medicine bearing the names of Israeli hostages. The packages were found sealed and undistributed, raising concerns about the previous breached agreement in which Qatar would distribute medicine for the chronically ill hostages.

Hostage names were found on the supplies:

IDF forces also discovered un-opened boxes of medicine bearing the names of Israeli hostages. The packages were found sealed and undistributed, raising concerns about the previous breached agreement in which Qatar would distribute medicine for the chronically ill hostages.

The medicine and medical supplies were critical to some of those still being held:

The medical assistance includes essential treatments such as inhalers for asthma patients, medications for diabetics, insulin injections, glucometers, medications for heart disease and blood pressure, as well as treatments for intestinal infections and thyroid gland imbalances.

During talks, Qatar had committed to providing verifiable proof to Israel that the medications will indeed reach the hostages. However the IDF finding the France-sent boxes with medicine, indicates the never reached the hostages.

Evidence is mounting that Hamas can’t be trusted to be in power of any post war Gaza plans.

Looking For A Replacement

Reports are that Hamas is already looking for someone else to lead them as we see in an article from The Times Of Israel:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Hamas’s leadership abroad is looking for a replacement for its Gaza Strip leader Yahya Sinwar, as the terror group’s battalions in Khan Younis have been dismantled and an offensive in Rafah is looming.

“Hamas does not trust its commanders, this is a very, very noticeable thing,” Gallant says following an assessment with the chief of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman.

“The Hamas-Gaza station does not answer, there is no one to talk to as leadership on the ground,” he says, adding that the Hamas leadership abroad is looking for new leaders in Gaza. “That means there is a tender for who will manage Gaza,” he says.

More Hamas troops surrendered signaling waning moral:

In Khan Younis, Gallant says some 200 terror suspects surrendered to troops at Nasser Hospital and dozens at Al-Amal Hospital, which he says indicates the loss of Hamas’s “fighting spirit.”

“People who had RPGs, weapons and guns reached the moment of truth and did not fight. This indicates something about their understanding of the power relations, that they understood that their fate would be to surrender or die — there is no third option,” he says.

Gallant says Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade has been “defeated and does not function as a military entity in any way.”

Gallant gave this assessment of what is left to this war:

“Hamas is left with marginal [forces] in the central camps and with the Rafah Brigade, and what stands between them and a complete collapse as a military system is a decision by the IDF,” he says.

“There is no one here to come to their aid, no Iranians, no international aid,” Gallant says, vowing that the IDF will dismantle the remaining six Hamas battalions — two in central Gaza and four in Rafah.

“We have no right to stop as long as there are 134 hostages” held by Hamas, he adds.

No To A Unilateral Palestinian State

In an unexpected show of unity the Israeli war cabinet will not support a Palestinian state brokered by anyone other than Israel and the Palestinians. Here is more from a report in The Times Of Israel:

Israel’s cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved a declaration rejecting “international diktats” seeking to push Palestinian statehood, in the wake of reports that the US and several Arab partners were preparing a detailed plan for a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians that includes a “firm timeline” for a Palestinian state.

“Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians,” the cabinet decision read. “A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.

“Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” the motion added. “Such recognition in the wake of the October 7th massacre would be a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism and would foil any future peace settlement.”

The United States still responded this way:

In response, a US State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel that “the best way to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security, for Israelis and Palestinian’s alike, is our strong commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state.

“As such, the United States continues to support the two-state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values.”

The plan from the US and others contain non-starters for Israel:

The proposed plan includes moves that Israel has previously refused, including the evacuation of many West Bank settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. It would also see a combined security apparatus and government for the West Bank and Gaza.

Others in the cabinet alluded to appeasing Nazi Germany and sacrificing “Czechoslovakia in 1938,” referring to the 1938 Munich Agreement and Europe’s failed strategy of appeasing the Nazis in a bid to avoid conflict.”

Lost in all this is what God said about dividing up the land in Joel 3:2:

I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land.(NLT)

I would stay away from making God mad if I was proposing giving anyone land promised to Israel by Him.