GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 286

It’s Our Fight, Too

Anyone Could Have Predicted This

In a move that is no surprise to anyone, the Israeli government voted against recognizing a Palestinian state right before the PM comes to the US to speak to a joint session of Congress. We read more on this in a report from The Times Of Israel:

The Knesset late Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The resolution was co-sponsored by parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition together with right-wing parties from the opposition and even received support from Benny Gantz’s centrist National Unity party.

Not everyone wanted to vote for the resolution:

Lawmakers from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s center-left Yesh Atid party left the plenum to avoid backing the measure, even though he has spoken in favor of a two-state solution. The only ones to oppose the resolution were lawmakers from the Labor, Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al parties.

The timing could make Netanyahu’s trip to America interesting:

The initiative was passed just days before Netanyahu’s visit to the US to address a joint session of Congress and meet with President Joe Biden at the White House. The move was likely to further irk Democrats uncomfortable with embracing an Israeli government that increasingly rejects a two-state solution.

There was a previous resolution, but that one was different:

Already in February, the Knesset passed a resolution sponsored by Netanyahu rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state, but that motion specifically addressed the unilateral establishment of such a state amid reports that countries abroad were considering recognizing a Palestinian state absent a peace agreement with Israel.

Support for the resolution was overwhelming:

This resolution — passed 68-9 — altogether rejects the establishment of a Palestinian state, even as part of a negotiated settlement with Israel.

The Details

The article tells us more about the resolution itself:

“The Knesset of Israel firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region,” the resolution stated.

It then states what many think will happen if such a state is created:

“It will only be a matter of a short time until Hamas takes over the Palestinian state and turns it into a radical Islamic terror base, working in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel,” it continued. “Promoting the idea of ​​a Palestinian state at this time will be a reward for terrorism and will only encourage Hamas and its supporters to see this as a victory, thanks to the massacre of October 7, 2023, and a prelude to the takeover of jihadist Islam in the Middle East.”

As we could also expect, the Palestinian Authority or PA is against the resolution:

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said in response to the vote that there is “no peace or security for anyone without the establishment of a Palestinian state” with East Jerusalem as its capital, noting that numerous UN member countries have already recognized it.

He further accused the Israeli government of “pushing the entire region into the abyss” with Washington’s support and labeled Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as “terrorism” for the civilian deaths it has caused.

Other PA leaders weighed in and also condemned the resolution and asked for international help as well:

Another senior PA official, Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a top aide to Abbas, wrote on X that the Knesset’s decision confirms Israel’s “racism,” “disregard for international law,” and “policy of perpetuating the occupation forever.”

Al-Sheikh urged countries that are hesitant to recognize a Palestinian state to do so “immediately” in order to protect the two-state solution and called on Arab states to “respond appropriately” to the resolution passed in the Knesset.

Some in the US government weren’t happy before the resolution passed and that may make the situation worse:

The vote came as Netanyahu’s July 24 speech was already causing consternation among many Democrats, many of whom are torn between their long-standing support for Israel and dismay over the way Israel has conducted military operations in Gaza during the war with Hamas.

While some Democrats are saying they will attend out of respect for Israel, a larger and growing faction wants no part in it, creating an extraordinarily charged atmosphere at a gathering that normally amounts to a ceremonial, bipartisan show of support for an American ally.

The presidential race’s politics is also getting in the way:

Further complicating matters for Biden and the Democrats is the president’s increasingly perilous political situation, with growing calls for him to drop out of the race as trails badly in polls against challenger Donald Trump.

And talk of Biden meeting with Netanyahu got concerning news as well:

And in a further curveball, the White House announced Wednesday that Biden would be going to Delaware to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID. It remained unclear how the development could impact Monday’s scheduled meeting with Netanyahu in Washington. Biden’s doctor saying he was taking Paxlovid, which typically has a five-day regimen, but did not specify a timetable for his expected recovery.

Overall, the Prime Minister’s trip is shaping up to be less than ceremonial.

Put More Pressure On Hamas

While more and more people and nations are putting pressure on Israel to accept a deal to release the hostages, one man thinks that pressure should be put on Hamas to release the hostages period as we read in an article from CBN.com:

While many families of hostages held in Gaza want the government to make a deal with Hamas for their release, other families want the focus to be on eliminating the terrorist group for the overall good of the Jewish people and the nation.

Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan is a hostage, is one of them.

His son helped save lives:

As a security guard at the Nova Music Festival, Eitan Mor saved many people before Hamas terrorists kidnapped him. He just celebrated his 24th birthday in captivity.

“Eitan is a hero. Yes. He could have escaped again. He could escape, but He chose to help people, to save people,” Tzvika Mor told CBN News.

He thinks his son is still alive:

Mor says they've received two reports from Israeli intelligence that his son is alive.

“One before the first deal in the first 50 days after October 7th. And the other one was from one of the hostages (who) was released. He said to the intelligence that he saw Eitan in a tunnel. And they sat together and (spoke),” Mor stated.

Mor not only feels like a strong military campaign is needed, he created a forum to not repeat past mistakes:

Shortly after October 7th, Mor felt the need to support a strong military effort rather than a deal with Hamas for the return of his son and other hostages. That's why he helped start the Tikva (Hope) Forum.

“We understand our own role. And in this case, we understand that we have to stop a crazy deal with the terrorists. We were here in (the) Shalit Deal (the bargaining for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 and released five years later, in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian and Arab-Israeli prisoners). That crazy deal. And we think that God gave us this role to stop and to save the people of Israel from another crazy deal,” Mor explained.

Mor noted that the Shalit deal released the man leading Hamas, Yahya Sinwar and he fears releasing more terrorists to get the current hostages is not a good thing. He then brought up what his son would want done if he ever got taken as a hostage since they talked about it before:

“In the end of the discussion, Eitan told us that if he (is ever held) hostage, he (doesn’t) allow us to release him for terrorists. So I know exactly what my son thinks about this issue,” he said bravely.

The forum has a motto:

Dozens of the hostages' relatives make up Tikva Forum. Their motto: “only pressure Hamas” for the release of the hostages, not the government.

He says the only solution is complete victory over Hamas. He also agrees to not give up the land because he too believes that if they let the people go back to the land it will once again allow terrorists to take it over again:

And, he adds Israel must stay in Gaza, and eventually resettle there, because if not, Hamas will only reorganize.

“They have only one target: destroying Israel. God gave us this country and this coastline. This is our (land) like Tel Aviv is our land. So, we don't have to be ashamed. This is our only state on the globe,” he emphasized.

Mor notes that he and his forum members represent the hostages as well and wants the rest of the world to support them. He actually gave up his job to do this work:

“You must support the State of Israel and especially Tikva Forum because we are the hostages’ families. We are in the (frontline) of the war,” he said.

Mor, a father of eight, lost his job since the October 7th attack because he is devoting all his time to speaking out on behalf of his son and the other hostages.

Mor then addresses the United States directly and gives us an ominous warning:

He says America must stand with Israel for America's own good.

“We are fighting your war. These barbarians are on the way to Europe and to America. If you want to live, you have to stand with us. You have to help us to crush them here before they’re coming to America.”