Nasrallah and Allies Throwing Threats at Israel

 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel to “Count to one million!” this past Monday before starting any attacks or violence against Lebanon. To those who know Israel they realize this threat has nothing to do with any threats which might emanate from Israel, they have everything to do with Nasrallah reinforcing his own standing as Hezballah has some difficulties as their losses in the Syria conflict continue to mount. Hezballah requires their front with Israel to give their movement legitimacy and without support in Lebanon they would not have this front. Nasrallah’s problem is the fighting by Hezballah in support of Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad in his war to try and reestablish his country with him still in control. Hezballah only has an obligation to fight for al-Assad because Iran insists they assist the Iranian efforts to support al-Assad, an ally, or should we say the more honest assessment of puppet, and thus retain Syria as the anchor on the Mediterranean of the Shiite Crescent across the Middle East. This Shiite Crescent begins with Iran bordering the Indian Ocean and Persian (Arabian) Gulf across Iraq and on through Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. Should Iran lose their claim to Syria personified by Bashir al-Assad who is more Shiite than Sunni as an Alawite Muslim, they lose their western Shiite Crescent anchor. The civil war in Syria has drawn more assets from Iran who has sent mostly Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units and as the fighting had continued they demanded that Hezballah assist the efforts and this demand has only increased as the fighting became more and more desperate. Initially Hezballah had great successes but soon they began to have sufficient losses that they were no longer able of hiding the deaths and severe injuries to their fighters. As Hezballah is mostly an all-volunteer force, leaving Hezballah has proven bad for some individuals’ health.

 

Hassan Nasrallah Gesturing during remote feed video onto large screen during Hezballah semi-annual pretense of readiness to defeat any Israeli assault as he remain in hiding presumably beyond the reach of Israeli drones and commandos. This enhances his appearance of constantly under threat by Israeli forces seeking to assassinate him. The likely truth is that Israel had no reason, desire or even bothered to draw up plans to do so. As far as whether Israel could find Hassan Nasrallah’s various secreted locations, probably already have them pinpointed on some map just in case it becomes advantageous to remove Nasrallah from his position as the figurehead of Hezballah.

 

Still, and especially with the losses in Syria, Hezballah needs volunteers to fill their ranks of fighters. They control much of the government forces throughout Lebanon and is allied closely with President Michel Aoun and through these connections they control the education system in much of the areas and through this they indoctrinate the youth thus providing for future volunteers. One of the main attractive themes which is used in the schools and in their seeking for new recruits is the idea of fighting the Jews, Israel in particular. This has been a central theme even in Iran where their two major indoctrination inducing themes are “Death to America” teamed with “Death to Israel” both of which are often chanted in demonstrations after Friday prayers. This is the Iranian version of George Orwell’s 1984 “Two Minutes of Hate.” The similarity between the Iranian use of hate and Nasrallah using hate for Israel and the Jews are asimple means of holding power through defining and demonization of the other. This has been one of the means of unifying populations throughout Islamic history beginning with Muhammad during his later period in Medina after his being cast out of Mecca as his preaching that his revelations were the only truth, something the pluralistic society of Mecca refused to accede to, eventually rubbed the leaders of the city and the populace to such an extent they rejected both his preaching and soon the man himself, Muhammad, was cast out of the city. Once he established his power base in Medina he turned on those who had rejected him, first the Jewish tribes in the vicinity of Medina and then on Mecca bringing it down and subjugating those who had formerly rejected him. This was why he called his religion Islam which best translates as submission. This is still the method used by Islam that all must bow to their wishes and as Muhammad chose the Jews for a special place as the most accursed by Islam, this theme is repeated today. This is part of why Israel is so hated and why they so often depict the United States as controlled by Jews or as the puppet of Israel and thus singling the United States for equal hate as is given Israel. Some may ask why then is Britain also given such hate even more so than France, which was just as much a colonial power after the end of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and the reason is simple, the Balfour Declaration brining Israel into existence, as they were under Jewish control. Everything traces back to the Jews no matter how absurd such a premise may be. Below we have Orwell’s “Two Minutes of Hate” and a rally against Israel, Britain and America from Tehran and the similarities are easily recognized.

 

Two Minutes of Hate

 

Endless Mindless Hate

 

There has also been a renewed belligerence from Gaza using a new tactic of firing their rockets from both within Gaza and from the Sinai Peninsula. Other than opening up a new front by using Egyptian territory there may be more involved. These rockets have been largely a single volley and then a return to what can be described as a normal level of fear and anxiety. The truth is, as we noted in our article Hamas Appointments Signal Coming Conflict, the recent retirement by Ismail Haniyeh and his replacement by Yahya Sinwar signals an expected increase in belligerence and the definite possibility of another Gaza war as Hamas will likely start a new rocket offensive this spring and into the summer. More rockets were fired into Israel today and all that remains is to see who and how many take credit for the attacks. Currently there is a war ongoing in Gaza in a rather subdued struggle for control of the area, the attacks on Israel as well as potentially Egypt between Hamas and Islamic State. Both groups would desire to eradicate Israel and both find Egyptian President Sisi to be a threat to their particular version of Islam, as he is calling for a reformation within Islam placing the emphasis on the Meccan coexistence verses instead of the Medina conquer the world and subjugation verses. Both Islamic State and Hamas see conquest as the true path of Islam holding no question in the supremacy which must be brought about by any and all means necessary including by the sword. Their argument with Sisi still would take a back seat to their hatreds for Israel and the Jews. In the case of Hamas one should not believe their aim is simply to destroy Israel and scatter the Jews to the far corners of the Earth as their Charter calls for the annihilation of all Jews wherever they may be found. Quoting the Hamas Charter, it states in Article 7, “The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslim, O servant of God, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’” Further, it states in Article 32, “Zionism scheming has no end, and after Palestine, they will covet expansion from the Nile to the Euphrates River. When they have finished digesting the area on which they have laid their hand, they will look forward to more expansion. Their scheme has been laid out in the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion.’” These are actual beliefs which they intend to act upon yet nobody appears capable of understanding their deep-seated anti-Semitism and the extents to which they intend to carry the extermination of the Jewish People. What the world need understand is that the Islamic hatred for the Jews goes all the way back to the beginning starting with Muhammad and was not a product of their influence from the Nazis but rather it was an Islamic influence of Jew hatred which spurred the Nazis even further and was responsible in part for the “Final Solution” which was in part formulated through the input of the Mufti of Jerusalem in discussions he partook in at the Wannsee Conference. Hamas is simply the continuation of Muhammad’s preoccupation with the extermination of the Jewish People.

 

Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar

 

What poses the real threat is the possibility of facing a two front assault from the south using both Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula by Hamas as well as facing Hezballah in the north potentially attacking from both Lebanon and onto the Golan Heights from within al-Assad held areas around Damascus in Syria. Where such would not prove an impossible task for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), it would limit that care which could be granted should the IDF only need fight on just one front. There would be a necessary broadening of any theater of operation with less ability to use discretion when targeting essential structures being used as rocket launching facilities or command and control. This would be particularly true on the front against Hezballah as they have been provided with sufficient ability to destroy much of Israel with their estimated one-hundred-fifty-thousand rockets and missiles. With such an arsenal they could probably overwhelm the Iron Dome systems and in order to preserve the nation the IDF would be required to rely on intensive air strikes and use of Israeli missiles in a series of precision munitions. The usual surgical precision and calling off air strikes simply because there would be a potential for civilian casualties would need to be given less urgency as many of these rockets and missiles and their launchers have been placed in what Hezballah refer to as their hardened positions which they claim Israel is unable to strike. What they are relying upon is that no Israeli government would ever permit the unrestricted use of missiles and air strikes regardless of civilian casualties. The difference in any coming conflict with Hezballah is that it would come down to Lebanese casualties or Israeli casualties and that would not be a difficult, though it would be an unpleasant, thought for any Israeli Prime Minister no matter where on the political scale they may sit. Any Israeli Prime Minister who would hold Lebanese or Gazan lives as more important and more precious than Israeli lives and call off strikes which would save Israeli civilians simply because Lebanese or Gazans might be hurt should step down immediately. There is a point where being humane when fighting a war has to give way to the practicality of fighting a war. Any war with Hezballah who have been provided with more missiles and rockets than many European military powers could put into use at any given time by Iran with the intent of overwhelming Israel and destroying as much of the country and murdering as many of the people as possible, that requires taking off the gloves and fighting any confrontation as what it is, an all-out no-holds-barred war. Such is not exactly something to be proud over, but reality has consequences and the only thing which Israel can promise is that she will not fire the first shot.

 

That leads us to the final reason Nasrallah made the comments he did. His other purpose is to establish through quotations the idea that any confrontation must have been started by Israel. In this with repeated statements of how Hezballah will go to any length in protecting Lebanon from Israeli aggressions, Hezballah will not shy when Israel attacks, Hezballah stands ready for the coming Israeli attacks and statement after such statement that when Hezballah strikes Israel in a cross border raid killing IDF soldiers on patrol and kidnapping soldiers if able they will claim the Israelis attacked and the world, even for a moment believes and reports such, then the entire following conflict will be blamed on Israel. Many of the world media will point to all the times Nasrallah warned of impending Israeli attack. The problem is Hezballah claims that the Galilee is occupied land and that Israel illegally holds these lands so when they attack it is in defense of lands they claim are occupied despite there being a recognized international border which places these lands within Israel. The entire length of the Lebanon Israel border is fenced and any attack required crossing through the fence at recognized crossing points. The entire border between Israel and Lebanon is supposed to be monitored by the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon. These are the same peacekeepers who were supposed to prevent Hezballah from rearming and prevent their digging an entire new set of underground facilities. This is the same United Nations peacekeeping force which the Europeans walked out of supporting, India left after they were threatened and these peacekeepers now basically work for Hezballah. These United Nations forces were referred to as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and were put in place after the Second Lebanon War and almost lasted two years before basically turning the other way and allowing any breaching of the agreements they were supposed to enforce. They became so threatened that one seldom sees any United Nations vehicles south of the Litani River and those one can find are often being driven by and used to transport Hezballah units, rockets and provisions. UNIFIL became a joke and if there is any logic left in Israel, they will never again trust the United Nations, European union, European nations or most of the world to keep even a single promise if doing so places them in opposition to the forces of Islam as the world is more afraid of terrorists than they are of Israel because Israel will not be blowing things up in their capitals or anywhere they care about. Israel needs to realize they are on their own for the most part and any friends they may have after an election may disappear after the next election and their promises will leave with them. Such is the lesson of the written agreement given Ariel Sharon by George W. Bush which has since become a dead letter with at best may become resurrected briefly but will then be eclipsed somewhere down the road, guaranteed. The only promises Israel can count upon are in Torah.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Listen to the Left and Ignore Reality

 

The recent horrific terror attack driving a massive truck into the crowds shopping for the holiday at Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz Christmas Market murdered at least twelve people and at least fifty people were injured. There have been accusations that the German authorities were too lax and did not respond to terror warnings that just such an attack was potentially imminent. The critics claim that all that was necessary to protect the shoppers at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas Market was a dozen or so Jersey barriers, heavy concrete barriers with curved sloping sides designed to stop even the largest of trucks including the kind used in the attack. In defense of German authorities, one also need consider exactly how many outdoor Christmas malls such as the Breitscheidplatz Christmas Market exist in all of Germany and then figure the number of Jersey barriers would have been required. That would bring the total of Jersey barriers from around a mere dozen to a number somewhere in the tens of thousands. Were there lapses in Germany? What would be a better question would be are there lapses throughout Western nations from Germany to Britain to Italy and Poland, from Greece to Spain to Finland and Sweden, even across the pond to the United States and Canada? The answer is, of course, yes. Even in Israel where such attacks have occurred for a longer period the placement of large posts anchored into the pavement at bus stops, light train stations and other places where people might congregate is still an ongoing, though urgent, series of installations. This is understandable as first these places must be identified, as bus and light rail stops are simply the initial places requiring these instillations while taxi spots and even busy crosswalks in places in downtown Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as well as other cities take further research to identify and will hopefully eventually be discovered and protected. Of course the rule in terror attacks is whatever preventions are taken will simply change the threat making complete terror-proofing quite impossible; all one can do is alter the targeting.

 

Truck Driven into Christmas Shoppers at
Berlins Breitscheidplatz Christmas Market

 

But just to prove that even the most rudimentary of efforts of prevention will be met with scoffing and ridicule, came care of Britain where there was a credible deterrent which some left wingers were rather critical. One of them wrote: “Safety is the last message this presence is sending out. It’s sad, and an extreme over reaction to a very slim chance of a terrorist attack. More likely to be hit by a drunk driver.” Such noble words of appreciation over even a modicum of effort to protect the public make one shake their heads in amused ridicule and disbelief. Can these people ever be pleased? Imagine the screams and protestations should there have been an attack even with the efforts which drew complaints over the effort. The leftists would be demanding heads of government officials responsible for the lack of sufficient efforts to prevent such an attack. It is understandable that not all terror can be prevented though it can be mitigated to minimal effect which while minimizing the deadly results of mass attacks such as in Germany, as has occurred in Israel, stabbing attacks still have the potential to inflict fatalities and injuries no matter anything short of a complete security provided by an actual police state. Every state need to decide what level of damage would be tolerated by the general public and then assure that their security levels are sufficient to surpass the level of expectation and assure that the people will feel secure. Failing to plan sufficiently will result in your facing the same level of disaster that is being faced by Chancellor Merkel and her government. But leftist trouble with reality is on even greater display when it comes to Israel.

 

France’s leftist government is once again planning to hold a conference to address a new solution to the Arab Israeli conflict. Their plan is to have representatives from approximately seventy countries gathering on January 15, 2017 for a conference to throw the weight of the international community behind the two-state solution. Thursday’s announcement included the news that neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be present at the meeting. But France intends to invite Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Paris some time afterward to brief them on the outcome of the talks, according to the foreign ministry. Meanwhile, the new French Envoy to Israel said two weeks ago that the conference would not contain any novel ideas on how to solve the Middle East conflict, but is mainly intended to prevent the issue from disappearing amid other global crises. “What we propose is nothing new but [we are] trying to keep the subject on the agenda and not letting it down because there are other crises in the world,” Ambassador Hélène Le Gal said. “We continue to propose things and it’s always in a very good spirit toward Israel.” Keep the Arab Israeli or Israel Palestinian conflict in the new? Have they ever read any newspaper, the New York Times, Washington Post, Haaretz, Paris Guardian, Berlin Morgenpost or Pravda recently? I guarantee that not more than two or three days go by without at least two-thirds, that would be four of the six, would have at least one front page reference to the West Bank, Jerusalem, Temple Mount, Kotel, Settlement, Gaza, Palestinian or Israeli acts against Arabs almost all of which will be negative against Israel. You will likely see more front page news on the Arab Israeli conflict than on the violence in Iraq and even with if not more than Aleppo on an average week in the news, especially if you include television and radio news where time is more limited than is space on the front page of a newspaper. But the brilliant minds in Paris are afraid that the Arab Israeli conflict, particularly the plight of the poor and oppressed Palestinians, might be slipping from the public consciousness. Perhaps the reality is something different, but that can wait for now.

 

The next item is the latest concern of the Security Council which was scheduled to vote on a resolution condemning Israeli building in Judea, Samaria (West Bank) and (East) Jerusalem and considering including in the resolution banning any further Israeli construction beyond the Green Line. The presentation of the resolution was postponed after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to have spoken with President-elect Donald Trump who probably was the person who influenced Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who responded positively to discussions and pressures which desired that the proposal, at the very least, wait until after the Paris conference. Netanyahu likely is also hoping that any proposal will not be considered until after January 20, 2017 at 12:00 noon such that President elect Donald Trump will officially be sworn in as President and Nikki Haley will be representing the United States in the Security Council and a new sheriff will be in charge, this apparently was not the case. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has stated, “The delay of the vote is an important step; however we realize that this issue is not yet resolved. We are continuing our diplomatic efforts on all fronts to ensure that this disgraceful resolution will not pass the Security Council.” All efforts came to naught except likely those from the White House from President Barack Hussein Obama who, sticking to his anti-Zionist and anti-Israel positions and vindictiveness toward Prime Minister Netanyahu and all Jews who are not 100% supporting the destruction of Eretz Yisroel and standing by President Barack Hussein Obama’s side, pressed to have this resolution voted upon immediately such that he and he alone would be recorded by history to have finally ended any Israeli compromises and granting the Arab Palestinian terror masters a blank check towards their desired goal of the destruction of Israel and the genocidal elimination of over six-million Jews residing in Israel, who had a strong arm in pushing New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela (a nation which has no toilet paper, food, prescription drugs or any other vital items) brought the motion back to the floor after Shabbat had started in Israel. The motion passed unanimously with fourteen nations supporting and the United States, in their idea under Obama of a grand gesture, abstaining as if that makes them almost righteous. More on this in a subsequent article early next week as certain particulars become clear.

 

The French are not the only people on the left who believe that the Israeli Palestinian conflict has not been addressed or given the necessary effort in order to solve it. President Obama was almost constantly complaining that this situation was not getting the amount of attention it deserves. Hillary Clinton had mentioned her intent to give this conflict the attention required to solve the problem. The French are also all-in on the situation and the new Canadian Prime Minister has supported the French efforts claiming that such an international conference is necessary because the world has not put forth the effort and solved the problem. This is despite the near constant addressing and passing of General Assembly Resolutions every year like clockwork at the opening ceremonies, the November 29th annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Durban Conferences and any other opportunity the Arab League or individual Arab leaders decide they need to renew their investment in their own standing at the cost of the Zionist entity, Israel, and present their own resolution condemning Israeli something or another as the what is irrelevant as the target of Israel is all that matters. Yet we have the French with atta-boys coming from every leftist leader on the planet backslapping them for their bravery in calling this conference and their claims that this effort will finally be the effort which brings forth a solution if only Israel can be pressed to make the needed sacrifice for peace.

 

In closing, let us discuss the concept of “bring forth a solution if only Israel can be pressed to make the needed sacrifice for peace.” Israel was required by the world through United Nations resolutions, and the wording was made specific after much debate and every word was carefully checked and rechecked, and Israel was required to “return lands” and not return all lands or any set percentage or even a majority of the lands, just return lands and this return was to be governed by providing Israel with safe and secure defendable borders. These were the requirements and not in any way shape or form demanding a return to the pre Six Day War borders of the Green Line. Repetition of the lie that Israel must retreat completely has been given validity solely through sheer repetition but has no backing in truth. Once the Israelis returned the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula when making peace with Egypt they had more than met all the demands of the United Nations resolutions. They had more than exceeded most expectations as there were many who felt that Israel would demand to retain the western half of the Sinai Peninsula making the central spine of mountains the new Israel-Egyptian border. Whether returning all of the Sinai Peninsula was a wise move will remain undetermined but will appear as a good deal as long as there is no attack from Egypt in the future. Add the granting of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, who almost immediately lost it to Hamas causing the constant terror threat of rockets, mortars and other attacks from Gaza onto and into Israel, simply added more to the lands returned by Israel. Israel would be completely within their rights to retain all of the remaining lands gained in their defensive wars of 1967 and 1973 which were the six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. Despite this truth the French and much of the world believe that Israel has not given enough and would probably accept that Israel had not given enough even if they did return within the Green Line. The Arabs believe that as long as Israel exists, then Israel has not given enough. If the French would like to have a hint as to what would be acceptable to the Arab League and the Arab world, here it is in a simple concept, the end of Israel and the disposing of the Jews residing there by whatever means necessary with their annihilation being the preferred method by much of the Arab world. That will never happen and Israel will be retaining much of Judea and Samaria and if the Palestinians cannot handle that then Israel will gladly just retain all the land, period. That will make the leftists squirm as they really have a problem with assertive Jews; even the leftist Jews have a problem with assertive Jews. We know as we have witnessed such discomfort simply by walking into a Synagogue in much of the United States, and that is a shame, the real shame.

 

Beyond the Cusp