Israel At War Sunday Sept 21

Israel at war day 716

-Benjamin Netanyahu:  A Palestinian state will not be established. The response to the latest attempt to impose on us a terror state in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the United States.

I have a clear message for those leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7th: you are granting an enormous prize to terror.  

And I have another message for you:  

It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan.  

For years I prevented the establishment of this terror state despite immense pressure both at home and abroad.  

We did this with determination, and we did it with diplomatic wisdom.  

All the more so, we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria and we will continue on this path.  

The response to the latest attempt to impose on us a terror state in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the United States. Wait for it.

-Recognition of Palestine undermines future peace, strengthens Hamas, Israel warns.

Israel “categorically rejects” the recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Kingdom “and some other countries,” says the Foreign Ministry. The formal declaration of recognition by the UK, Canada, and Australia “further destabilizes the region and undermines the chances of achieving a peaceful solution in the future,”  “not only rewards the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust by a terror organization that is calling and acting for the annihilation of Israel, but also solidifies the support Hamas enjoys.. “The Palestinian Authority is part of the problem and not part of the solution,”

“Israel will not accept any detached and imaginary text that attempts to force it to accept indefensible borders,”“Political gestures aimed at a domestic voting audience only harm the Middle East and are not helpful. Instead, if the countries that signed this declaration truly wish to stabilize the region, they should focus on pressuring Hamas to release the hostages and to disarm immediately.

-National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announces that he will raise annexing the West Bank at the next cabinet meeting in response to the UK, Canada and Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state. “The recognition by the UK, Canada, and Australia of a ‘Palestinian’ state, as a prize for the murderous Nukhba terrorists, requires immediate countermeasures,” “the immediate application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria  and the complete dismantling of the ‘Palestinian’ Authority.”

- Britain recognizes a Palestinian state. British PM Keir Starmer announced the UK support

"Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine."

- Canada has just declared it now officially recognizes Palestine as a state, effective immediately. PM Mark Carney  "Today, Canada recognizes the State of Palestine"

-Australia has formally recognised the State of Palestine, Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong announce.

-  2 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Ashdod. 1 rocket was intercepted, the other landed in an open area. 

- Netanyahu says Israel will respond to Palestinian statehood moves at UN within days

- Ahead of the Yomim  Noraim, relatives of the hostages called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday to “atone” and do teshuva for his failure to bring home their loved ones from Gaza, as tens of thousands of Israelis rallied across the country for the release of the hostages and against the continued fighting in the Strip.

- President Trump: “We have between 32-38 hostages in Gaza who are dead.”, Israel's numbers are 20 alive and 28 dead.

- The current estimate in Israel is that over 500,000 Gazans have already evacuated Gaza City as the IDF offensive deepens.

- Qatar is demanding an official Israeli apology for the attack in Doha in order to return to mediating the hostage deal.

- A gunman stormed into Sky Meadow Country Club IN NH, opened fire, killed one person, and injured others. He was shouting “FREE PALESTINE

- Netanyahu told ministers during a cabinet meeting that Israel had made progress in talks with Syria that could lead to peace agreements with Damascus and Beirut.

- Israel's assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was preceded by a secret ground operation by Mossad operatives, who infiltrated unique equipment into the heart of Nasrallah's stronghold in Dahiyeh surrounded by Hezbollah personnel — while the Israeli Air Force fiercely bombed the area.

For the first time, Ynet's Ron Ben-Yishai has revealed the details of the daring operation that helped Israel eliminate Hezbollah's leader and reshape the Middle East.

Some excerpts from Ben-Yishai's report:

- While the Israeli Air Force bombed Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood; Mossad operatives in Beirut, "carrying well-disguised packages," "crept through narrow alleys, hugging walls, hoping their handler had coordinated with the IDF so the air force would not bomb the very path they were taking. Their destination was a high-rise apartment block. Beneath it sat Hezbollah's most sensitive secret — the underground bunker serving as its main command headquarters."

- "Only a handful of Hezbollah's security guards and inner circle knew the bunker even existed. The Mossad operatives were to place their devices at pre-planned points inside the building above the compound. They assessed their chances of survival at no better than 50-50. Even if Hezbollah’s men failed to spot them, they still risked being struck by shrapnel from Israeli bombs raining down nearby."

- "Just hours before setting out, the agents held a tense discussion with their Mossad handler. They said they were prepared for the mission but demanded that the air force halt its heavy bombardments during their infiltration. The handler insisted the opposite: the raids would not only continue but intensify, forcing Hezbollah guards to take cover and giving the agents a chance to reach the bunker.

Under the pounding of Israeli bombs, the Mossad team completed its mission. They planted the devices exactly where planned and slipped away undetected."

- Completed in 2022, the equipment the agents carried "was designed to allow precision strikes at varying depths underground... That precision was essential. Even a one-meter deviation could mean a bomb striking beside — rather than into — a tunnel. In that case, those inside might survive with only injuries."

- "Israel almost missed the opportunity to eliminate Nasrallah: when the 'golden intelligence' came that he would meet his advisors in the secret bunker on a Friday, opinions were divided at the top security-political levels." While they wanted Nasrallah gone, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant feared that the assassination could spark a regional war, and argued that the strike should be coordinated with Biden. But also fearing a regional war, the Biden administration would have opposed such a strike.

- "In contrast, Mossad head [David] Barnea and others... demanded the elimination proceed without prior coordination with Biden. Netanyahu hesitated and initially decided not to decide. The discussion took place at night, and the next morning Netanyahu flew to the UN. Early that morning, in flight, he decided to eliminate Nasrallah after intelligence suggested the opportunity might not recur.

Initially, the prime minister instructed a senior security official to carry out the assassination, but that person demanded a formal procedure. Netanyahu consulted with security chiefs and selected ministers by phone from his hotel in New York, and the decision to execute the strike was finalized."(Amit Segal)