Former President Donald Trump made statements during an interview with Fox News that have drawn raised eyebrows from legal experts who argue that he may have inadvertently admitted to breaking the law. During the interview with host Mark Levin on Sunday, Trump asserted that he had “every right” to interfere in the 2020 election, a claim that has raised eyebrows among legal professionals and political observers alike. His comments follow a recent development in the case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who amended the charges to address a Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents significant immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken in their official capacity. “Who ever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election, where you have every right to do it?” Trump stated during the interview, appearing unapologetic about his actions following his defeat in the 2020 election. He further remarked on the impact of the indictments on his political standing, noting, “You get indicted and your poll numbers go up… when people get indicted, your poll numbers go down.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Two American service members were assaulted by a mob of young Turkish nationalists in the western city of Izmir on Monday. The attack, which appeared to be an attempted kidnapping, was thwarted when fellow US soldiers and Turkish police intervened. According to reports, the American personnel, who are safe, were targeted by members of the Turkiye Genclik Birligi (TGB), or the “Turkey Youth Union,” a virulently anti-American group affiliated with the fringe nationalist party Vatan Partisi. The attackers threw a sack over the head of one American sailor while the other tried to defend him, prompting chants of “Yankee go home!” and “America is finished!” from the crowd. Turkish police arrested 15 of the assailants. The TGB claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, describing it as a “sack action” and vowing to continue targeting US soldiers. The group has conducted similar assaults in the past, including a 2014 attack on three US Navy personnel in Istanbul. The US Embassy in Turkey confirmed the incident and thanked Turkish authorities for their response. The attack occurred during a scheduled port visit by the USS Wasp, which had participated in bilateral training with the Turkish Navy prior to docking in Izmir. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The Lufthansa Group, which includes Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines, revealed on Monday evening that it will recommence its flights to Israel starting next Thursday.
At the end of July, the group disclosed that it would halt flights to Israel due to concerns about the worsening security situation and periodically conducted security reviews.
Lufthansa provides regular services between Ben Gurion Airport and the cities of Munich and Frankfurt.
Despite Lufthansa’s decision to restart flights to Israel, numerous other international airlines have yet to announce a similar decision.
Notably, United Airlines remains one of the major carriers that has not resumed flights and has not provided an update on when it will return to Israel.
Additionally, American Airlines is anticipated to resume flights to Israel only in March 2025, while Delta is expected to restart its operations by the end of the month.
{Matzav.com}
It might feel like the presidential election is still a long way off. It’s not. Election Day on Nov. 5 is only about two months away, and major dates, events and political developments will make it fly by. The stretch between now and then will go as fast as summer break from school in most parts of the country. The first mail ballots will be sent to voters this Friday. The first presidential debate is set for Sept. 10. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is scheduled to be sentenced in his New York hush money case on Sept. 18. And early in-person voting will start as soon as Sept. 20 in some states. Here’s a look at why the calendar will move quickly, with the Democratic and Republican conventions over and Labor Day signaling the traditional start of campaign season. Who’s ready to vote? The first batch of ballots typically sent out are ones to military and overseas voters. Under federal law, that must happen at least 45 days before an election — which this year is Sept. 21. Some states start earlier. North Carolina will begin sending mail ballots to all voters who request them, including military personnel and overseas voters, on Sept. 6. Voter registration deadlines vary by state, with most falling between eight and 30 days before the election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The deadline is Oct. 7 in Georgia, one of this year’s most prominent presidential battlegrounds. Nearly all states offer some version of in-person voting, though the rules and dates vary considerably. In Pennsylvania, another of the major presidential battleground states, voters can visit their local election office to request, complete and return a mail ballot beginning Sept. 16. For those counting, that’s a little over two weeks from now. The gloves come off Whether, where and under what rules the Democratic and Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees will debate has been a point of contention for weeks. But for now, two match-ups are on the calendar. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris have accepted an invitation from ABC News to debate Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. Harris’ pick for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Trump’s, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have agreed to an Oct. 1 debate hosted by CBS News in New York City. Harris has forecast a possible second debate with Trump, but her proposal appeared to be contingent on the GOP nominee’s participation in the Sept. 10 debate. Trump has proposed three presidential debates with different television networks. Vance has challenged Walz to another vice presidential debate on Sept. 18, although it’s not been set. A possible criminal sentence for Trump Trump is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18 in his hush money criminal case, though his lawyers have asked the judge to delay the proceeding until after Election Day. A decision is expected early this month. In a letter to Judge Juan M. Merchan, Trump’s lawyers suggested that holding the sentencing as scheduled, about seven weeks before Election Day, would amount to election interference. On Sept. 16, Merchan is expected to rule on Trump’s request to overturn the guilty verdict and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to a woman just before the 2016 […]
Synopsis: A language that is unique to the Jewish nation is holier, so using Yiddish to study Torah keeps the Torah as holy as possible, which is admirable for native Yiddish speakers. The difficulty is when children who are not fluent in Yiddish translate from Hebrew to Yiddish, and today’s educators are moving away from this.
WATCH:
Two Russian ballistic missiles struck an educational facility and nearby hospital in a central-eastern region of Ukraine, killing at least 41 people and wounding 180 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday. The strike occurred in the city of Poltava, the capital of the region of the same name, officials said. Poltava is located about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the border with Russia and about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv. The strike appeared to be one of the deadliest carried out by Russian forces since the war began more than 900 days ago on Feb. 24, 2022. “One of the buildings of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed. People found themselves under the rubble. Many were saved,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel. “All necessary services are involved in the rescue operation,” he added. He said he had ordered “a full and prompt investigation” into what happened. Zelenskyy didn’t provide any further details. The missiles hit shortly after the air raid alert sounded, when many people were on their way to a bomb shelter, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said, describing the strike as “barbaric.” Rescue crews and medics saved 25 people, 11 of them dug out from the rubble, a Defense Ministry statement said. Zelenskyy repeated his appeal for Ukraine’s Western partners to ensure swift delivery of military aid. He has previously chided the U.S. and European countries for being slow to make good on their pledges of help. He also wants them to ease restrictions on what Ukraine can target on Russian soil with the weapons they provide. Some countries fear that hitting Russia could escalate the war. “Ukraine needs air defense systems and missiles now, not sitting in storage,” Zelenskyy wrote in English on Telegram. “Long-range strikes that can protect us from Russian terror are needed now, not later. Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lost lives,” he said. (AP)
Security officials believe that the terrorists who planted a car bomb that was found on the yishuv of Ateret in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning intended to kill dozens of children. Investigators who arrived at the scene found an explosive device that contained 49 kilograms of explosives and a small camera in the car. The camera was transmitting live footage of the area to the terrorists who were watching it from afar and waiting to blow up the car at the opportune moment – when the maximum number of Jews could be killed at once. Officials believe they were waiting until the yishuv’s school bus passed by the front gate to distribute students to schools in the area. IDF forces have launched a manhunt for the terrorists which is still ongoing as of Tuesday morning. On Monday afternoon, police and military sappers blew up the car in a controlled explosion. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
A Nukhba commander who led the raid and massacre at the Netiv Ha’asara moshav on October 7 was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday morning. Hamas commander Ahmed Fawzi Nasser Muhammad Wadiyya was killed in a strike in a terror stronghold near the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, along with seven other terrorists, including an expert on anti-tank weapons who was responsible for supplying Hamas with the explosives devices for the October 7 assault. Wadiyaa, who infiltrated the moshav on a paraglider, was among a group of terrorists who threw a grenade into the home of the Taasa family. The father of the family, Gil, H’yd, 46, who was in the safe room with his two youngest sons, Koren, 12 and Shay, 8, jumped on the grenade to save his sons. The terrorists then entered the home to make sure Gil was dead and Wadiyaa opened the fridge and drank some Coke in front of the two wounded and bleeding boys. The terrorists then left the house and continued the massacre. The shocking footage of the incident, which was captured on the home’s security cameras, was included in the film of the horrors shown worldwide to select audiences. The two boys survived but Shay lost sight in one of his eyes due to a shrapnel wound. Sadly, their father was not the only family member they lost that day. Their oldest brother Or, H”yd, 17, who left early that morning to go fishing at Zikim beach was killed by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel via sea. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture, was marred by a shooting Monday along the parade route. At least two people were wounded by gunfire around 2:35 p.m., police said, hours after the parade kicked off with thousands of revelers dancing and marching through Brooklyn. Details on their conditions and the extent of their injuries were not immediately available, police said. An Associated Press videographer saw at least two people being treated next to the parade route on Eastern Parkway for what appeared to be wounds to the face and arm. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time, but completed the route. Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they had placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items. The parade, an annual Labor Day event in its 57th year, turns the thoroughfare into a kaleidoscope of feather-covered costumes and colorful flags as participants make their way down the thoroughfare alongside floats stacked high with speakers playing soca and reggae music. The parade routinely attracts huge crowds, who line the almost 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) route that runs from Crown Heights to the Brooklyn Museum. It’s also a popular destination for local politicians, many of whom have West Indian heritage or represent members of the city’s large Caribbean community. Though a joyous occasion, the parade and related celebrations have been plagued by violence over the years. In 2016, two people were killed and several others were wounded near the parade route. The year before, Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was shot in the head during pre-parade festivities. He died nine days later. The West Indian American Day Parade has its roots in more traditionally timed, pre-Lent Carnival celebrations started by a Trinidadian immigrant in Manhattan around a century ago, according to the organizers. The festivities were moved to the warmer time of year in the 1940s. Brooklyn, where hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled, began hosting the parade in the 1960s. The Labor Day parade is now the culmination of days of carnival events in the city, which includes a steel pan band competition and J’Ouvert, a separate street party commemorating freedom from slavery. (AP)
Top sources have revealed to The Jerusalem Post that the IDF’s strike on Iran’s S-300 antiaircraft missile system on April 19 has significantly deterred the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah from retaliating against Israel in the wake of the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. The strike, which was in response to Tehran’s launch of over 300 aerial threats against Israel on April 13-14, has had a profound impact on Iran’s willingness to engage in further military action, the sources said, noting that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, views the strike on the S-300 as a significant loss and can’t figure out how Israel achieved it. The proximity of the system to Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and a key military airport has also made Khamenei aware of Israel’s capabilities and its ability to destroy the military site if it wanted to. So far, Iran has not responded at all militarily to the assassination of Haniyeh, which occurred in Tehran as he visited the country to attend the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Hezbollah, on the other hand, has chosen a more limited option to retaliate against Israel, launching several hundred rockets at IDF bases rather than unleashing a full-scale war. Sources attributed this change in plan to fears of Israel’s military capabilities, as demonstrated in April. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A Hamas manual outlining its tunnel warfare strategy reveals how the militant group has managed to withstand eleven months of conflict against Israel’s superior military forces, according to a report by the New York Times.
The 2019 manual meticulously details the tactics and methods that Hamas commanders were directed to employ, allowing them to maximize the use of the extensive tunnel system that runs beneath the Gaza Strip.
Another document revealed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar sanctioned a $225,000 project to install blast doors to safeguard vulnerable parts of the tunnel network a year before the October 7 attacks.
Before the October 7 massacre, Israel’s focus was primarily on tunnels that extended beyond the Gaza border. This oversight allowed Hamas to construct an expansive tunnel network within Gaza itself, enabling the group to evade confrontations, launch surprise attacks, move covertly, and conceal many of the roughly 250 hostages abducted on October 7, according to the report.
Experts have noted that this elaborate tunnel system is a significant reason Israel has not yet achieved its objective of dismantling Hamas. If forced to fight entirely aboveground, the group’s forces would likely be overpowered by the IDF.
The manual includes guidance on how to disguise tunnel entrances from Israeli forces, how to conduct ambushes, how to effectively use firearms in the tight confines of a tunnel, and the use of night-vision goggles to assist in combat within the dark tunnels.
To avoid engaging Hamas on its own terms, the IDF has largely refrained from tunnel combat. Consequently, most of the battles have occurred aboveground, where Israeli forces hold the advantage, leading to significant losses within Hamas’ leadership and fighting forces.
Approximately 17,000 Hamas fighters have been killed, with thousands more injured during the conflict, according to IDF reports. Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is believed to be hiding in one of the remaining tunnels, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages being used as human shields.
In July, Mohammed Deif, the Commander of Hamas’ Military Wing and Sinwar’s second in command, was killed in an IDF airstrike in Khan Yunis.
{Matzav.com}
The U.S. government has seized a plane used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that officials say was illegally purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States, citing violations of sanctions and export control laws. The Dassault Falcon 900EX was seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to the custody of federal officials in Florida, the Justice Department said Monday. U.S. officials say associates of the Venezuelan leader used a Caribbean-based shell company to hide their involvement in the purchase of the plane, valued at the time at $13 million, from a company in Florida. The plane was exported from the U.S. to Venezuela, through the Caribbean, in April 2023 in a transaction meant to circumvent an executive order that bars U.S. persons from business transactions with the Maduro regime. The plane, registered to San Marino, was widely used by Maduro for foreign travel, including in a trips earlier this year to Guyana and Cuba. “Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary for export enforcement in the Commerce Department, said in a statement. CNN first reported the plane seizure. The seizure announcement comes just over a month after Venezuelans headed to the polls for a highly anticipated presidential election in which ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor without showing any detailed results to back up their claim. The lack of transparency has drawn international condemnation against Maduro’s government. Meanwhile, the opposition managed to obtain more than 80% of vote tally sheets – considered the ultimate proof of results – nationwide. The documents, the faction said, show Maduro losing by a wide margin against former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez. It was also the plane that carried several Americans jailed for years in Venezuela to the Caribbean Island of Canouan last December where they were swapped for a close Maduro ally, businessman Alex Saab, imprisoned in the U.S. on money laundering charges. In March, it flew to the Dominican Republic, along with a Venezuelan-registered plane, for what was believed to be maintenance, never to leave again. The U.S. has sanctioned 55 Venezuelan-registered planes belonging to state owned oil giant PDVSA. It’s also offered a $15 million bounty for the arrest of Maduro to face federal drug trafficking charges in New York. The Venezuelan government’s centralized press office did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Monday. (AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman Their names and holy souls pull at the heart-strings of any feeling Jew. Many of them exemplified remarkable heroism and sacrifice. They went back to save friends and protect others. We all davened and said Tehillim for them for the past eleven months. And now, sadly, 6 of the 250 kidnapped neshamos have been brutally and depravedly murdered – two point four percent. Ori Danino H’y’d, Carmel Gat H’y’d, Hersh Goldberg-Polin H’y’d, Alex Lubanov H’y’d, Almog Sarusi H’y’d. Eden Yerushalmi H’y’d, The Rambam in his Yesodei HaTorah of his Mishne Torah writes about them. These six precious souls were murdered solely because they were Jewish and the Rambam writes in Yesodei HaTorah (5:4), “There is no virtue above their virtue.” The Rambam applies to those who are murdered solely because they are Jewish – two verses in Tehillim (44:23), “It is for Your sake that we are killed all the time, that we are considered as sheep for the slaughter; and Tehillim (50:5), “Gather to Me My devoted ones, who made a covenant with Me over a sacrifice.” Let’s focus on two aspects of this Rambam for a moment. They are called, “Harugei Malchus” and they are also called, “My devoted ones.” But the Rambam lists among them Chananya, Mishael and Azaryah – and they did not die! They were ultimately saved! How could the Rambam refer to them as Harugei? That’s one question. But let’s also ask a second question – a question that applies to our current situation. Almost every day we cry. We read in the news of remarkable soldiers who were taken in the prime of their lives. The second question is: How do we get out of this?? How can we try to ensure that Jewish blood is not spilled? The resolution to the first question is that Chananya, Mishael, and Azaryah were willing to die. The obvious extension is that every fighting soldier involved in the three conflicts currently facing Israel is included in this category as well. THE SHLA HAKADOSH Which brings us to the answer for our second question. But first a remarkable Shla HaKadosh (found in Shaar HaOsios Brios). The Shla notes that there are 620 letters in the aseres hadibros – the 10 commandments. The last 7 of these letters form the two words – asher l’rayacha – a term intimately associated with the Mitzvah of V’ahavta l’raya kamocha – loving our neighbor as ourselves. INCREASE AHAVAS YISROEL So, in order to get out of this we must all markedly increase our observance and appreciation of this Mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel. And we must daven, pray, search for every means at our disposal to help our brethren out. At every opportunity we should be melamed zchus on Klal Yisroel and not like those who assume the worst. We should always practice the notion of “Resha versus Rasha.: Always remember the following dictum: “Hate the Resha but love the Rasha. Hate the notion of evil, but love the Rasha.” This refers to acheinu bnei Yisroel. The pasuk in Vayikra (19:17-18) tells us not to hate your brother in your heart but practice v’ahavta laracha kamocha. TO THE POINT WHERE WE BECOME SICK The Gemorah in Brachos (32a) says that our care and concern for others must be to […]
A recently uncovered Hamas handbook from 2019 has shed light on the terrorist organization’s tunnel warfare strategy, which has enabled it to withstand 11 months of conflict against superior Israeli forces, according to a New York Times report. The document details tactics and strategies for utilizing the extensive network of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, including the use of blast doors to protect vulnerable sections, approved by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a $225,000 project. Experts suggest that Israel’s focus on border tunnels allowed Hamas to build a vast internal network, facilitating ambushes, secret travel, and hostage concealment. This underground advantage has hindered Israel’s goal of dismantling Hamas, as the group’s forces would be greatly disadvantaged in aboveground combat. The handbook provides instructions on tunnel entrance camouflage, firearm tactics, and night-vision goggle use. To counter this, the IDF has avoided tunnel engagements, resulting in aboveground battles where Israeli forces hold the advantage. The conflict has seen significant losses for Hamas, with approximately 17,000 fighters killed and thousands injured. Key leaders, including Mohammed Deif, have been eliminated, while Yahya Sinwar is believed to be hiding in a tunnel, potentially using Israeli hostages as human shields. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
For the first time on Monday evening, a representative of Hamas openly acknowledged that the group was responsible for executing the six hostages who were killed in a tunnel beneath Rafah last week.
The spokesperson stated, “The instructions for dealing with hostages will be updated when the IDF approaches the scene.”
This admission follows several days of denials from sources close to Hamas, who had claimed that the hostages were not executed by Hamas but were instead killed by Israeli fire or a bomb.
On Motzoei Shabbos, the IDF and ISA discovered and retrieved the bodies of the hostages—Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino—from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and brought them back to Israel.
These six individuals had been abducted on October 7th, 2023, and were killed within the last two days by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Their bodies were found 20 meters below ground, without prior intelligence. The remains were recovered a kilometer away from the tunnel where the hostage Farhan al-Qadi was located and rescued the previous week.
The six hostages were found with gunshot wounds to the head and other areas. There was no indication of torture.
{Matzav.com Israel}
A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after earlier pleading no contest to attacking four Jewish teenagers who were walking along a road while dressed for Sukkos in 2022. Noah Amato, 19, of Ponte Vedra, was sentenced Friday for aggravated battery and carrying a concealed firearm in the October 2022 attack. Local news outlets reported his sentence also covers a no contest plea to fleeing police and reckless driving in 2023. Investigators said Amato and a friend were riding a bike in Ponte Vedra Beach in 2022 while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Amato shouted a slur to a group of four Jewish teenagers who were out celebrating Sukkos. Amato then hit one of the teenagers with a handgun in the face, deputies said, and fired the gun near the teenager’s head, leaving burns on the teen’s face. Amato’s attorney disputed parts of the account, saying there was a verbal confrontation between Amato and the Jewish teens. The lawyer said the teen who was targeted by Amato, Zalman Barrocas, had shoved Amato first. “I believe this man should have the maximum punishment,” Barrocas said in testimony during the sentencing hearing. “My life could have been over that day. I believe it’s a miracle from God and I thank him every day. I hope it’s a story that ends with us being safer and we’re able to live in society without being in fear.” Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky, Barrocas’ uncle, had called for hate crime charges against Amato. Prosecutors previously said there were no hate crime charges pending. Amato apologized for the pain he caused the family, saying on the witness stand, “I take 100% responsibility for the heinous crime I committed. I was highly intoxicated on an entire bottle of liquor and some Percocets.” (AP)
A partial photo of a leaked document published by Hebrew newspaper Yediot Acharonot appears to show that hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, and Eden Yerushalmi were listed for release in the first phase of a potential ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas. The seven-page document, finalized on July 27, was conveyed to US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators and includes a list of “humanitarian hostages” held in Gaza, with the three murdered hostages’ names listed under “Annex 2.” The document reveals changes to Israel’s original hostage-ceasefire proposal from May, demanded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Hamas agreed to most terms. Unnamed Israeli sources claim these changes sabotaged the deal’s prospects. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu addressed criticisms from President Joe Biden on Monday, emphasizing that pressuring Israel in response to Hamas’s killing of six hostages would only embolden the terrorist group to continue such actions.
Speaking at a press briefing primarily in Hebrew, Netanyahu emphasized that Israel is engaged in a life-or-death struggle against a ruthless adversary. He once again expressed his sorrow to the families of the six hostages, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who were killed as Israeli forces approached the underground site where they were held: “We were close, but we did not succeed.”
Netanyahu used maps to illustrate the strategic significance of the Philadelphi Corridor, located along the Gaza-Egypt border. He explained that before Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, the country had control over the border. Following the “disengagement,” when Israel relinquished control, Hamas was able to smuggle in weapons used against Israel. Netanyahu stressed the importance of holding the corridor to prevent Hamas from rearming.
Addressing Israeli military leaders and officials who proposed that Israel could temporarily withdraw from the corridor for the first six weeks of a proposed hostage deal, Netanyahu firmly rejected the idea, stating that a “temporary” withdrawal was not feasible. He warned that international pressure would prevent Israel from reasserting control over the corridor once it was relinquished. “This thing [giving up the Philadelphi Corridor] will not bring back the hostages — quite the opposite,” Netanyahu asserted.
Netanyahu criticized those advocating for a reversal of a recent security cabinet decision to maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor, indirectly referencing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant without naming him. “What message does that send to Hamas? Murder hostages and win victories?” he asked, presenting a Hamas document found by soldiers in Gaza that suggested using psychological tactics to pressure Israel by blaming Netanyahu and targeting Gallant.
Responding to President Biden’s earlier remarks that Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal, Netanyahu avoided addressing Biden directly but instead quoted senior American officials who had stated for months that Israel had agreed to the terms of a proposed deal, while Hamas had not. He emphasized that a deal would only be possible when Hamas recognized Israel’s unity on critical issues like Philadelphi.
Later, when questioned in English, Netanyahu reiterated the American officials’ statements and added:
“What has changed in the last five days? What has changed? One thing: these murderers executed six of our hostages. They shot them in the back of the head. That’s what changed. And now, after this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says, kill more hostages, murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions. The pressure, internationally, must be directed at these killers — at Hamas, not at Israel. We say yes, they say no all the time — but they also murdered these people. And now we need maximum pressure on Hamas. I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace, and achieving the release [of the hostages], would seriously ask Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concessions.”
When asked about the possibility of residents of Israel’s northern communities, who were evacuated due to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks from southern Lebanon, returning home, Netanyahu indicated that their return would depend on a change in the security situation, hinting at the potential for war.
Israel has stated that it expects Hezbollah to adhere to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, move north of the Litani River, and cease its attacks on Israel. If diplomatic efforts fail, Israel has expressed its readiness to go to war in Lebanon.
{Matzav.com Israel}
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