Netanyahu: Israel Will Enter Rafah With Or Without Hostage Deal
Israel will invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah with or without a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday (4/30) during a meeting with forums of hostage families and families of fallen soldiers who are affiliated with the right and support the invasion.
The statement came after US officials said on Monday (4/29) that new progress had been made in negotiations for a hostage deal, which would likely include at least a temporary suspension of plans to enter Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold that the IDF has yet to attack.
“The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve total victory,” Netanyahu said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office statement to the press, “The prime minister listened to their call to continue achieving the goals of the war and to withstand the international pressure.”
The two forums that met with the prime minister were the Hope Forum, which includes families of hostages, and the heroism Forum, which includes families of fallen soldiers. Both are affiliated with the right and have largely called to increase military pressure in Gaza. These are separate from the larger Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which has taken an increasingly critical stand against the government.
Israel Should Invade Rafah, Not Give In To ‘Global Pressure,’ Son Of Hamas Leader To Piers Morgan
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the disowned son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, appeared on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored on Tuesday (4/30), where he defended his stance that a Rafah operation was essential for defeating Hamas.
Yousef insisted that Israel should not compromise its security because of “global pressure,” as the pressure is only temporary.
“If we don’t end Hamas and remove them from power… we are going to have many other wars. This is not Hamas’ first attempt to take hostages and use civilians for human shields… We do not need to give Hamas one more opportunity to destabilize the region and create a major war like this,” Yousef stressed.
Morgan proceeded to ask if Israel was not creating a new generation of terrorists, as civilians may turn against Israel after having lost their loved ones during the current war. Responding to this, Yousef answered “Israel is fighting for its very existence… when there are people out there who want you to cease to exist – this is when they push you to the corner and you have no other choice but to fight.”
The ICJ ruled that Israel’s actions are not genocide, Yousef asserted while insisting that the world was failing to acknowledge that Hamas committed genocide on October 7.
Rahma Zein, an Egyptian journalist, also appeared on the show where she accused Israel of committing “blatant war crimes” in Gaza and referenced the International Criminal Court’s upcoming decision to potentially charge Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. Morgan, the show’s host, reminded Zein that Hamas leaders were also under the ICC’s inspection.
Asked what Israel should have done after October 7, Zein dodged the question and pushed that she needed to respond to the comments by Yousef. She claimed that Yousef’s relationship with his father had led him to “condone the annihilation of your own people.”
Later in the interview, Yousef stated that the Palestinian people were using a “victim card” and that it was the Jewish people who had experienced historic oppression – not Palestinians. Yousef pointed to the fact that Mizrachi Jews were thrown out of many Arab countries with little notice, but Palestinians had claimed the narrative.
Jordan Flatly Rejects Senior Hamas Official’s Idea Of Moving Leadership To Kingdom
Jordan on Tuesday (4/30) quickly dispelled the idea that Hamas leaders would be welcome to set up their offices on their territory after a senior Hamas official suggested the terror group’s political bureau would move to the kingdom if it was forced to leave its current home in Qatar.
It was reported earlier this month that Hamas’ political chiefs are exploring moving their base of operations out of Qatar, as the Gulf state faces increasing pressure over its influence with the terror group in indirect-hostage-for-truce negotiations with Israel.
Seeking to dismiss the rumors, Mousa Abu Marzouk told Iran’s al-Alam TV network Monday (4/29) that the terror group’s leaders would not move to Iraq, Syria or Turkey, adding that “any potential relocation, which is not currently happening, would be to Jordan.”
“Jordan is a supportive nation for Palestinian resistance, and Hamas maintains a positive leadership with the Jordanian government,” he said.
The Hamas leadership was expelled from Jordan and its offices shut by King Abdullah in 1999, with the newly-appointed king accusing the terror group of meddling in Jordan’s sensitive relations with its significant Palestinian population.
Doha has hosted Hamas’ politburo leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, since 2012, and has become a key mediator in the war between the terror group and Israel, particularly in efforts to secure a hostage release and truce deal. The country is one of Hamas’ main backers, transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the terror group annually.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said last week there were no plans to close the office of Hamas’ political bureau as long as its mediation efforts were ongoing in the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the Ynet news site, Jordan’s government was angered by Abu Marzouk’s declaration. Citing Jordan intelligence, the report said the kingdom believed Iran pushed the idea after its military took part in a United States-led coalition that intercepted the missile and drone attack launched against Israel on April 13-14.
The report said the Jordanian government dispatched veteran diplomat Ziad Majali to quickly pour cold water on the idea.
“Hamas behaves as if there’s no state and no authority in Jordan that will decide and determine how to act and how to conduct itself,” Majali was quoted as saying. “Jordan has closed the book on Palestinian cells – and we do not intend to reopen it.”
Amid regular anti-Israel demonstrations in Jordan, a senior security source in the country told Ynet that many detained at those protests “are exposed as doing Hamas’ leadership’s bidding or have received money to attend protests,” and are kept in prison.
“We keep them in custody because the era of Palestinian organizations doing as they please in Jordan is over. We’re an organized kingdom with policy priorities and won’t allow anybody to interfere in our affairs,” the source said.
Decades before its dispute with Hamas, Jordan came into open conflict with the Palestinian Liberation Organization led by Yasser Arafat in 1970, during a period known as Black September, in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
By the end of the violent conflict, the PLO was pushed out of major cities in Jordan and the then-king Hussein consolidated his power.
Police Officer Moderately Hurt In Jerusalem Stabbing; Assailant, A Turkish Visitor Shot Dead
A police officer was moderately wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, authorities said Tuesday (4/30). The assailant, a Turkish national, was shot dead.
According to police the Turkish man rushed at a Border Police cop near the Herod’s Gate entrance and stabbed him in the upper body.
The wounded man was taken by the Magen David Adom ambulance service to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital, which said he was conscious and in moderate condition.
The officer who was stabbed and another cop in the area shot and killed the assailant, police added.
The suspect was later named as Hasan Saklanan, 34. Defense sources said he entered Israel legally on Monday (4/29) as a visitor, via the Jordan River Crossing with Jordan.
A large number of forces, including Police and Jerusalem District Chief Doron Turgeman, were at the scene holding an assessment and collecting evidence, law enforcement officials said.
Police later published surveillance camera footage of the attack, showing Saklanan walking behind two police officers before pulling out a knife and trying to stab one of them in the head.
The stabber and the wounded cop are seen in a struggle, as the second officer works to pull the attacker away.
After the wounded officer manages to break free from the assailant, both he and the second cop open fire at Saklanan, killing him.
The attack comes a week after three people were lightly wounded in a car-ramming terror attack at two separate locations in Jerusalem. The two alleged perpetrators, Palestinian teenagers, were captured after a brief manhunt.
Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have soared since Oct. 7, when terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.
German Ambassador Attacked By Palestinian Mob During Ramallah Visit
German Representative to the Palestinian Authority Oliver Owcza was heckled and his vehicle was attacked by a student mob during his visit to Birzeit University outside of Ramallah in the West Bank on Tuesday (4/30).
Videos posted on social media showed him walking quickly to his car, wearing a suit and holding a briefcase, as protesters followed him.
Other clips also showed how a mob surrounded the vehicle, threw objects at it, kicked the vehicle and broke off a side mirror to show their anger over Germany’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
He had been there for a meeting with European Union heads of missions in the PA at the National Museum.
Owcza downplayed the incident in a post on X, stating, “Peaceful protest and dialogue always has its place.”
“We regret that today’s meeting of EU Heads of Missions at the National Museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters.”
“Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively working with our Palestinian partners,” he stated.
Germany’s Ambassador to Israel, Stefen Seibert, wrote on X,”I am fine as I was not affected by the incident in #Birzeit, which is outside my area of responsibility. I am glad that all my colleagues based in Ramallah are reported to be ok.”
According to Al Jazeera, the German ambassador in Pakistan was heckled recently at a human rights conference, over Germany’s stand on the Gaza War.
The Palestinians’ Global Empire – Lee Smith
Why should the Palestinians bother with arduous negotiations leading to compromise over establishing a Palestinian state when they already have something far greater and much rarer? An Empire. The ongoing marches around the world to “flood” Western cities, colleges campuses, and government offices, and halt traffic on major thoroughfares in support of Hamas, are evidence that the Palestinians have managed to create something much loftier.
Oct.7 represents the high-water mark of their long campaign against the Jews. With the Intifada globalized, millions of supporters are cheering their champions (Hamas), who kidnapped, raped, executed, and beheaded children. The protesters’ goal is hardly a two-state solution. Rather, the ceasefire they’re calling for is a tactic to strangle Israel’s war effort.
The crushing military defeat suffered by the Palestinians will hardly matter, as long as the U.S., alongside Europe and the Gulf Arab states, stand ready to rebuild and revitalize the Palestinians, a society that celebrates death as its highest value. The source of their steadfastness – their ability to replenish their arsenal and other military infrastructure – is, in fact, a luxury repeatedly afforded them by the U.S. and its European partners.
The Palestinians have immolated themselves and their children many dozens of times in their efforts to burn down Israel. Their culture is so devoted to death that its highest purpose is to extinguish itself in the service of killing others. Under the rules set by great powers to govern the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, anything is possible. Losing is winning. Crime is justice. Rape is love. Death is life. (Tablet)
