(Galilee, Israel) — Before we get to the rest of the news, let me update you on the continuing saga of the leaking of the video which purported to show the sexual assault of a terrorist prisoner by IDF soldiers. When I last left you, the tape had been proven false, and the one responsible for the leaking of the video was shown to be none other than the military advocate general herself, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. Arrest warrants were issued for her and for others, and search warrants were also signed to collect evidence. But Tomer-Yerushalmi staged a supposed suicide attempt in the Mediterranean Sea during which she claimed to have lost the phone which was loaded with extremely important information. She was later found completely unharmed, and taken into custody.
Since that time, Tomer-Yerushalmi’s phone was found. Not only did it still work, but it was remarkably intact. No signs of the corrosion that would have been caused by the five days it had supposedly spent in the salty Mediterranean. When the phone was powered on, the battery was still half full, but the SIM card was discovered to be missing and the phone’s contents had been thoroughly cleaned. There’s obviously something quite magical about that Mediterranean water!
Instead of coming down hard on the advocate general, the lenient judiciary, many of whom are concerned about being implicated in the far-reaching tentacles that might be attached to this incident, allowed her to be placed on house arrest. During that time, she allegedly made a second suicide attempt by taking a large number of sleeping pills. The common belief is through these manic episodes, she is trying to build a case that she’s not mentally fit to stand trial. So, that’s it for this week’s episode of Israel’s favorite soap opera, “As the Advocate General Turns.”
Three More Hostages Come Home; Three Remain
Sorrow mixed with satisfaction as the remains of two more deceased soldiers were returned home this past week. On Friday, the body of Sgt.Maj. (Res.) Lior Rudaeff, 61, was released by his murderers to be brought back to his family. This brave soldier was kidnapped and killed while defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak from a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist onslaught on October 7th, 2023. On Sunday, the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, was returned 11 years after he was killed in the 2014 Gaza War. Two days after his return, the tunnel shaft in which he was kidnapped and killed was destroyed by IDF forces. Then, Thursday evening, the IDF received the coffin of another murdered hostage from Hamas. After being transferred to Israel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine, he was identified as Meny Godard, 73, who was killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists alongside his wife in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th.
There are still three hostages left who must come home.
Fighting in Gaza Continues
This is turning out to be the most violent ceasefire on record. Hamas refuses to disarm and continues with its strategy to lay deadly traps designed to wreak havoc on the IDF. For its part, the IDF either learns of or stumbles across these plans or armed hideouts and destroys the threat.
International pressure is building for Israel to give free passage to the terrorists who are trapped within the borders of the no-pass Yellow Line. But that’s utter nonsense. What army would let their enemy saunter out of a place where they are stuck, just so they can go and rearm, get well-nourished, then join back in the fight? I pray that the Israeli government doesn’t give in to this asinine plea. As of the time of writing, there are reports of an agreement to allow 200 terrorists to be deported from beyond the yellow line, although no country has yet agreed to take them. Others are saying that all deals are still in negotiation.
A long-term plan that is being speculated about is to turn the yellow line into a permanent military border for the Gaza Strip. Civilians would be allowed to pass through to the IDF-held side to what would become newly constructed housing. Others could repatriate to other countries, such as Turkey, who just this week said that they may open their borders to a certain number of Palestinians. That would leave the other side of the line essentially a no-man’s land populated only by terrorists who refuse to lay down their arms and surrender.
While this discussion is being held, the US is looking into building a military base in Gaza. At the cost of $500 million, they are investigating areas along the edge of the strip, near the border with Israel.
New Communities in the West Bank
Thirteen new Jewish communities have been established and recognized in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.
According to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, “This is a major step toward formalizing communities and integrating them as an inseparable part of the State of Israel. Establishing new jurisdictional boundaries provides stability, allows for planning and development, and strengthens community blocs in the heart of the country.”
Hezbollah Digs In
The leadership of Hezbollah is giving no indication that they are going to adhere to Lebanon’s demand that they disarm. Naim Qassem, leader of the terrorist organization, said on Tuesday, “We will not abandon our weapons that enable us to defend our land. We will not bow down and we will remain standing.”
With regards to the ongoing battle with Israel, he said, “Israeli attacks cannot continue; everything has a limit.” But so far, the Israeli attacks do continue, because Hezbollah continues to rearm itself with Iranian-financed weapons. Even as the terrorist leaders bluster, though, dozens of them are undergoing cosmetic surgeries to alter their appearance so that they cannot be targeted by Israeli intelligence.
Al-Qaeda Wined and Dined in D.C.
A year ago, the CIA had a $10 million bounty on his head. On Monday, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa walked into the Oval Office and had a lovely chat with the president of the United States. Donald Trump posted pictures of his time with the former al-Qaeda leader and talked about the honor it was to spend time with him.
As an Israeli, it makes me nauseous to see this murderer hobnobbing with President Trump and the Washington elite. However, I believe that even as al-Sharaa thinks he is using Trump, in reality, Trump is using him to fulfill his plan for peace and trade in the Middle East.
Following meetings with the president and others, al-Sharaa stated, “We are conducting direct negotiations with Israel, and we have made good progress toward reaching an agreement. But to reach a final agreement, Israel must withdraw to the borders before December 8.”
Allow al-Sharaa’s people, who butchered the Alawites, the Druze, and the Christians, to our border? That’s not going to happen.
The Sick Man’s Attempt to Flex His Muscles
A criminal court in Istanbul issued arrest warrants against 37 Israelis due to the war in Gaza and the actions taken against the “Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.” Targets of the warrants include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Minister of Public Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and IDF Navy Commander Aluf David Salama.
In response to the court’s action, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “In Erdoğan’s Turkey, the judiciary has long since become a tool for silencing political rivals and detaining journalists, judges, and mayors…. Israel firmly rejects, with contempt, the latest PR stunt by the tyrant Erdoğan.”
The Decline and Fall of the Islamic Republic
Iran is in trouble. Even as the ayatollahs pour millions of dollars into their new uranium enrichment site, codenamed Pickaxe Mountain, the people are going without basic needs. The primary evidence of this country collapse is the lack of available water. The dam reservoir in Karaj is at only 8%, mostly made up of dead volume that cannot be extracted. This is leading to a severe crisis in Alborz Province that may completely dry up available drinking water, damage agriculture, and create widespread environmental harm.
Another very unsettling result of the disappearance of the reservoir next to the Karaj dam is the appearance of the bodies that had been dumped there. So far, 74 bodies have been found, many with hands and feet bound, some with plastic covering their heads, and others wrapped in carpets. The belief is that these are the remains of protesters who were secretly killed by the police, who then used the body of water to dispose of their corpses.
But the decline of Iran is not just in its lack of available water. There is also a drought of children. In what is the fastest decline in birth rate in the world, the number of children per woman has dropped from 6.5 in the past to just 1.5 today.
In addition, over Tehran and many other cities, there is a heavy brown smog due to massive air pollution. It has been 46 years since the Islamist revolution took over the country. Is that finally long enough to admit that this radical experiment has failed?
Britain’s Fake News Network
On Sunday, BBC Director General Tim Davie and the network’s news CEO Deborah Turness were forced to resign after the Telegraph newspaper exposed their inflammatory editing of President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech. Under their watch, the fake news network intentionally paired portions from two different parts of the speech to make it sound like Trump was calling for a violent insurrection.
But this isn’t out of character for the BBC.
Over the past two years, the network’s Arabic service has had to make 215 corrections, working out to approximately two a week. The Embassy of Israel in the UK applauded the departures of these unscrupulous media executives, saying, “We call for full accountability for those responsible for the editorial failings of BBC Arabic and for full reform to ensure that its future reporting meets the standards expected of the BBC.”
