Israel's U.N. Ambassador Blasts 'Demonization' of Country, Accuses Assembly of Supporting Hamas

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Israel's U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, lashed out at the U.N. General Assembly for supporting Hamas while saying "the demonization of Israel" is causing "sickening anti-Semitic attacks."

The Associated Press reported Erdan said if the U.N. "strengthens Hamas, it will make the possibility of Hamas replacing the Palestinian Authority much more likely and eliminate the chance of future dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians."

Erdan is open to a cease-fire on the condition that Hamas significantly degrades its "terror machine."

He said that "Israel will take all steps necessary to protect its civilians while making every effort to avoid harming Palestinian civilians."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israels-un-ambassador-blasts-demonization-of-country-accuses-assembly-of-supporting-hamas/ar-AAKd5yP

[WHITT]

1. The Only Parts That Aren't A Lie

are the 'the's and the 'it's.

[everyonematters]

2. Israel is not the darling of the US anymore.

They have the right to exist and defend themselves, but that does not excuse the abuse of the Palestinians, and they deserve to be called out on it.

[Me.]

3. +1

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

16. Well said.

[Bettie]

23. +1

I hate to think of what would happen to the people of Gaza if the world wasn't watching.

[maxsolomon]

4. Peevish is not a good look on an Ambassador.

The entire point of this provocation was to stop a Unity Government from being formed by the Israeli Left. It worked.

Hamas was happy to play along; they're Likud's most reliable partners in this dance.

[The Magistrate]

7. Hear Hear, Sir

The hard men on either side have achieved their purpose. The propping up of their opponents is their road to holding power in their own communities, which now they will continue to do.

[former9thward]

5. The Hamas attack was a disaster for them.

Much of their senior leadership were killed. They thought other Arab nations would rally to their cause. They didn't. This was really a fight between Hamas and the Palestinian Liberation Authority which controls the West Bank. Hamas lost.

[Rustyeye77]

6. Yes... it was a disaster for hamas.

[EX500rider]

8. Indeed they got played hard by both Fatah & the IDF

Fatah:
Accepting Iran as a patron cost Hamas a lot of popular support among Palestinians and with the foreign aid donors. Another interpretation is that rival Fatah in the West Bank deliberately sought to goad Hamas into a war with Israel. The timing of the recent Jerusalem violence created by Fatah seems to indicate that. Hamas and Fatah are under enormous pressure to hold elections that will once more produce a unified Palestinian government. Hamas thought attacking Israel again would help Hamas win this election. But a week after starting that war Hamas now sees it more likely end in another humiliation and make it more likely that Fatah will win the election. The Hamas war also puts more pressure on both rivals to delay the elections until they were certain they will win. That meant the elections will never be held, unless a new crises emerges that makes Fatah look better and Hamas much worse. This would force Hamas to accept the elections and lose control of Gaza, or risk a civil war in Gaza with Egypt and Israel backing Fatah. Hamas had made itself very unpopular with Gazans, Egypt, Israel and Fatah.

IDF:
..on May 12th when the movement of several Israeli combat brigades to the Gaza border was followed by the announcement that Israeli ground forces had moved into Gaza. Israel knew that the Hamas war plan mandated that all senior leaders head for underground bunkers or tunnels when this happened. The ground assault was not happening but Israeli airstrikes soon took place with over 400 smart bombs and guided missiles used in less than an hour. Many of the smart bombs were of the ground penetrating variety. It was no secret that Israel had a lot of these ground penetrating bombs and also designed and manufactured them. It was also no secret that since 2014 Israel had developed new tech for quickly finding underground bunkers. In addition the Israeli informant network inside Gaza had paid a lot of attention to where the new Hamas underground tunnels and shelters were. Hamas finally realized all this when dozens of their underground shelters, now full of key Hamas personnel, were damaged or destroyed by the ground penetrating bombs. These bombs were all delivered, against over a hundred Hamas targets, in less than 40 minutes. That made it difficult for Hamas personnel in the shelters to get word to get out of the shelters because Hamas had been the played and the shelters had become traps which many Hamas personnel did not escape.

https://strategypage.com/qnd/israel/articles/20210518.aspx

[Rustyeye77]

9. Wow...thanks for posting.

That was a major disaster for hamas.

[Rustyeye77]

10. Kick for strategypage

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Not sure if opinion from guys who write/podcast for Instapundit is worth the electrons

https://strategypage.com/aboutus/default.aspx

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/the-latest-strategytalk-podcast-jim-dunnigan-and-al-nofi-discuss-freedom-of-navigation-operations/

[EX500rider]

14. They have close connections to the military world and usually have the most in-depth info

Last edited Fri May 21, 2021, 12:37 PM - Edit history (1)

For keeping up with military tech and affairs they are the best bet, I like them better then Janes.
The page it self is non-political.

[EX500rider]

15. Plus the conclusion was fairly obvious

Fatah did stir up trouble right before elections and goad Hamas into attacking and Israeli did pretend to invade with ground troops

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. The opinion that Hamas has come out badly from this is just opinion

Hamas doesn't care about the opinion of an American RWer; the question is whether the Palestinians of Gaza (or, possibly, the West Bank) think Hamas looks better or not. They may blame them for deaths; they may think they stood up for the East Jerusalem Palestinians. These Americans don't know, frankly. I've seen other analyses that think Fatah has come out of this the worst, eg https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/latest-conflict-exposes-impotence-of-fatah-dominated-palestinian-authority-1.4565448 , or (today):

In videos on social media, hundreds of Palestinians could be seen chanting against Jerusalem Grand Mufti Mohammad Hussein inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque as he sought to give a Friday sermon.

Hussein’s role is sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Hamas’s main rival, Fatah.

They could be heard chanting “We are Mohammad Deif’s men” at Hussein, in support of Hamas’s military wing leader.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/al-aqsa-protesters-chant-against-fatah-backed-jerusalem-mufti/

[Rustyeye77]

18. This is interesting... hamas is pissed at fatah.

Is nothing sacred ?

[EX500rider]

19. What were their achievements?

Lost lots of leadership, fighters, weapons, storage sites, buildings, infrastructure...
Accomplishments against Israel practically zero. Between bomb shelters and iron dome they didn't do much damage to Israel for what they received.

[Rustyeye77]

20. I want to hear this too.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Support among Palestinians

Palestinians see victory in Gaza truce as Israel warns Hamas

Palestinians rallied by the thousands Friday after a cease-fire took effect in the latest Gaza war, with many viewing it as a costly but clear victory for the Islamic militant group Hamas. Israel vowed to respond with a “new level of force” to further hostilities.

The 11-day war left more than 250 dead — the vast majority Palestinians — and brought widespread devastation to the already impoverished Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. But the rocket barrages that brought life to a standstill in much of Israel were seen by many Palestinians as a bold response to perceived Israeli abuses in Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the conflict.

https://apnews.com/article/africa-middle-east-israel-palestinian-conflict-health-coronavirus-pandemic-41d515a273b54187d429887a3ae9d9e8

Israel’s Definition of Success Against Hamas Needs a Rethink

Hamas can’t defeat Israel militarily, but it has reason to declare victory this round.

Israeli military planners often think in five-year horizons, based on the assumption that time and technology are on their side. Hamas leaders are different. They don’t measure victory by cost assessments, weaponry or body counts.

Peace and quiet is the opposite of what they want to achieve. Their goal is to unite the Arabs of Palestine (“from the river to the sea”) and lead them in a grand intifada of liberation all the way to Jerusalem.

By this measure, Hamas’s attack on Israel, although militarily harmless, has been an unfolding success. Last week, Hamas rockets ignited wild riots in ethnically mixed towns and Arab cities. The police — whose clumsy and arrogant invasion of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque had provided Hamas with its casus belli — were stunned and ineffective.

(Zev Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books. He was a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report Magazine.)
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-21/israel-s-definition-of-success-against-hamas-needs-a-rethink

[EX500rider]

22. Support among people who are already their supporters

... isn't a very good trade for the outcome of the war

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Seems like I need to remind you about Fatah.

Which is weird, because you've mentioned them yourself. Hamas wants to become the group that Palestinians in general support, not just the de facto controllers of Gaza.

As you can see, proper commentators, from the area and international, do not think Hamas has been screwed by the events of the past couple of weeks.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Does anyone know what the General Assembly resolution was that offended him so much

The article doesn't seem to say.

[Amishman]

13. I believe it was the lack of condemnation of the rocket attacks

Israel views the rockets as acts of terrorism - and launching unguided missiles at urban areas packed with civilians should meet that definition. (Doesn't excuse the highly disproportionate use of force by Israel though)