GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 208

Understanding The Times

More US Intimidation

We read in an article from CBN.com that the US Secretary of State visited Israel for the 7th time:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders Wednesday. It's his seventh visit since the start of the war in Gaza, and this time he's on a mission to stop Israel's next military operation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Blinken despite strong disagreements about the need for the Rafah incursion.

The challenge continues for the prime minister, meeting again with the highest foreign policy official in an administration that has actively sought to replace him.

Why the US administration continues to think they can browbeat Israel into not finishing off Hamas is beyond me. The people want it to happen and so do the vast majority of the government so pushing for ending the war without going into Rafah is simply not going to happen. The article shares what the White House has concerns about:

Blinken has praised the latest Israeli offer of a ceasefire for the release of 33 Hamas-held hostages as "extraordinarily generous," and said it's up to Hamas to accept the agreement.

The White House objects to an Israeli military campaign against Hamas because it claims there isn't an adequate plan in place to protect Gaza civilians. Army Radio reported Wednesday that the IDF will declare a new "safe zone" for Rafah residents.

Fortunately, all signs point to a Rafah offensive happening:

Despite U.S. pressure, a former Israeli national security advisor said the Rafah operation is essential to Israel's security to defeat Hamas' remaining battalions, secure the border, and rescue the hostages.

Former U.S. Envoy Ellie Cohanim came out of high-level meetings with Netanyahu advisors believing that invading Rafah is essential.

"Nothing could be more clear than the need for Israel to finally and fully eliminate Hamas and Hamas' military capabilities by entering Rafah and destroying the last battalions that exist there," she declared.

Some members of Netanyahu's coalition threatened to pull out of the government if it suspended the Rafah operation.

In the meantime, two Israel Defense Forces divisions are preparing for the Rafah incursion.

Personally I see the 7th visit by Blinken is just a way to placate the Muslim voting block in Michigan and Nevada ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.

Pushing For Statehood

In a speech at the United Nations, the envoy from the Palestinian Liberation Organization or PLO made their case to be its own state as seen in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

The United Nations must grant membership to the state of Palestine and pressure Israel to end the Gaza war, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly on Wednesday.

“As we meet here today, Israel is still trying to push Palestinian people out of geography and out of history, its occupation descending to deeper levels. of depravity,” Mansour said.

None of that is true, but why let facts get in the way. Mansour went on to say this:

“An immediate ceasefire long called for by this assembly and demanded by this Security Council is indispensable and can not be delayed any further,” he said, as he accused Israel of massacring and torturing Palestinians.

Mansour was responding to a veto from the United States and added this:

He spoke at a special debate to protest the United States’s decision to use its veto power at the UN Security Council to block the Palestinian Authority’s bid to become the 194th member of the UN.

“The admission of the State of Palestine to the UN is an unequivocal signal that Palestinian self-determination and statehood are not subject to the whims and will of the extremists in Israel. Our admission to the UN is long overdue. It has been 75 years in the making,” he said.

“We will never accept that the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, to statehood and admission to the UN in any way, would be in any way subject to an Israeli veto,” he said.

“We will not be deterred in our pursuit for freedom,” he said, as he explained that such a step was the only way to preserve a future of peace.

“There are only two paths ahead. One that leads to a shared life and one that leads to common death. The more we wait, the harder it is to embark on the path that leads to just and lasting peace and shared security,” he said.

The United States Ambassador explained the veto this way:

A US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said he was concerned that the UNGA was now holding its second debate on the veto issue, and as such the meeting should not have been held.

He stressed, however, that the Biden administration supported Palestinian statehood, but believed it was best done, through direct talks with Israel for a two-state resolution to the conflict.

It was also unclear if the Palestinians met the technical requirements set out by the UN for statehood, Wood said, noting that Hamas “a terror organization” is still exerting influence in Gaza.

“The US continues to strongly support a two-state resolution,” Wood said.

The obvious elephant in the room is terrorist activities by Hamas, but also from the PLO who has in the past carried out attacks from inside Israel killing innocent Israelis. If statehood status is given, how about these other Arab countries finding land for them? I’ll wait for that to happen, but I’m certainly not going to hold my breath until it does.

A War Against Hezbollah Is Coming

I’m sure this is a tad anticlimactic since I’ve said all along that the terrorists to the north of Israel must be dealt with, but more information on such an attack is confirmed as seen in a report from the Jerusalem News Syndicate:

Israel Defense Forces troops in the north are actively preparing for a more extensive on the Hezbollah terror organization in Southern Lebanon, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday.

“You are doing an excellent job of operational defense in the north, and we are preparing for an offensive in the north,” Halevi told troops on the border following an operational assessment with Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and other high-ranking military officers.

As the article continues, it noted the many attacks on Israel by the terrorist organization inside southern Lebanon. It notes that a conflict will happen unless the tensions can be diffused other ways:

Israel has threatened a full-scale invasion of Southern Lebanon to push Hezbollah north of the Litani River—some 18 miles from the border—if a diplomatic solution is not found. Efforts to calm tensions, including those of the United States and France, have been unsuccessful.

Israeli citizens will not return to the area until they know it is safe:

Jerusalem has promised that the roughly 80,000 evacuated citizens who live within 5.5 miles of the northern border will not be asked to return home until the terrorist group is pushed back into Lebanon.

Hezbollah looks at things differently:

Over the weekend, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem threatened that a full-scale war with Israel would make the country’s northern region even more uninhabitable.

“[Israeli Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant threatens us that if we don’t stop the attacks, he will attack Lebanon to return the residents of the north to their homes,” he said.

“I say to Gallant that this war will not only cause the Zionists to not return to their homes but is likely to end their presence in the northern occupied territories once and for all,” Qassem said.

This will not be resolved any other way than military force. I would love for diplomacy to succeed, however both sides know better. If Israel wants to end the constant threats of attacks it will have to tackle Hezbollah head on. We should pray they understand the times with the anointing of the Sons of Issachar.