Big Surprise: Hamas to Increase Gaza Violence to Cover for Its Incompetence - Ryan Jones ISRAEL TODAY

Big Surprise: Hamas to Increase Gaza Violence to Cover for Its Incompetence

Wednesday, January 09, 2019 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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Israeli officials cited by local media said that they expect an escalation in violence along the Gaza border this coming weekend as Hamas attempts to divert attention from its ineptitude in governance.

A previous escalation in Gaza rocket attacks and border skirmishes in November was followed by many weeks of relative calm. Israel responded by facilitating the transfer of financial aid from Qatar to the cash-strapped Gaza Strip in hopes that Hamas would use the money to ease economic woes and further deescalate the situation.

But trusting in an unrepentant terrorist organization to behave in such a way was probably a bit short-sighted.

Instead, Hamas used the Qatari cash injections to allow its own higher-ups to resume their lavish lifestyles, leaving much of the Gaza population wondering why the hell they ever voted these clowns into power. (Yes, Hamas militarily seized control of Gaza, but only after winning a firm majority in parliament in the last Palestinian legislative election in 2006. And Jimmy Carter himself said those were free and fair elections, so who are we to argue?)

Doing what despots do, Hamas wants to get the people thinking about something other than how the group's top leaders are sitting pompously prosperous even as the coastal enclave's economy tanks.

According to Gaza sources, Hamas is looking to renew flaming kite and balloon bomb attacks (good luck with that under current windy and rainy weather conditions), as well as mass attempts to breach the Gaza security fence and assault nearby Israeli villages.

That should keep the people busy.

And so, on Tuesday, the verbosely-named "Supreme National Authority for the March of Return and Breaking of the Siege" urged the Gaza public to get themselves to the border fence on Friday for a little rumble with the IDF.

Just to make sure it's a full-featured event, Hamas also reportedly met with the heads of the "kite unit" and the "tire unit" (seriously, who comes up with these names?) and begrudgingly gave them some of their caviar money to, well, buy more kites and tires to set on fire.

Unfortunately for Hamas, the world is tiring of this story. So, unless the terror group can bring something new to the party (and Israeli forces are doing everything in their considerable power to ensure there are no surprises), any confrontation that does materialize is likely to be quickly forgotten, if not ignored altogether.

PHOTO: If the flaming kites and balloon bombs don't do the trick, Hamas has threatened to unleash its new jihadi boy band. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)

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When All Else Failed, Netanyahu Turned to Spiritual Guidance - Ryan Jones ISRAEL TODAY

When All Else Failed, Netanyahu Turned to Spiritual Guidance

Tuesday, November 20, 2018 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government almost fell this week. According to new reports, it was saved thanks to a bit of spiritual intervention.

Last week, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned and pulled his Yisrael Beiteinu party out of the coalition in protest over what many felt was a premature ceasefire in the latest round of Gaza fighting. Immediately after, Education Minister Naftali Bennett threatened to likewise quit the government along with his Jewish Home party if he wasn't appointed as the new minister of defense. That would have left Netanyahu with a minority coalition, and made early elections impossible to avoid.

Netanyahu fought back by insisting that there was a looming security crisis to which the public was not privy, but that necessitated keeping his government in power for as long as possible.

Many weren't convinced. Among them was the spiritual leader of Bennett's Jewish Home faction, Rabbi Haim Druckman.

According to Hadashot TV news, Netanyahu's people, including National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat, sought the rabbi's help in saving the ruling coalition from collapse. Druckman responded that he needed proof that what Netanyahu said about a looming crisis was true, and so he was purportedly shown classified security information.

The very next day, Bennett called a press conference and announced that he had dropped his ultimatum and would remain in Netanyahu's government under Netanyahu's terms.

PHOTO: Bennett and Rabbi Druckman at a 2013 event confirming that the Jewish Home party would join the Netanyahu government. (Yossi Zeliger/FLASH90)

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Palestinians Say Israel Killed Boys Catching Birds, So They Want to Bomb Tel Aviv - Ryan Jones ISRAEL TODAY

Palestinians Say Israel Killed Boys Catching Birds, So They Want to Bomb Tel Aviv

Monday, October 29, 2018 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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This is why the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is unlikely to come to an end, regardless of how lucrative US President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century" turns out to be.

All it takes is one little rumor, no matter how ludicrous or easily debunked, to set off another major round of violence.

That's what is currently happening in the Gaza Strip, where the news of the day is that Israeli soldiers callously shot and killed three Palestinian Arab children who were innocently setting traps to catch birds to feed their starving families.

That sounds absolutely horrible. No doubt any one of us would demand justice, if not vengeance, following such an atrocity. A mass demonstration in Gaza City called for as much when it urged Hamas and the other terror groups operating out of the coastal enclave to "bomb Tel Aviv." And, as the recent GRAD missile strike on Beersheva demonstrated, Hamas has the weaponry to fulfill the people's wish.

The only problem is that the story fueling this fire is about as reliable as the tale of a young girl named Goldilocks and her unfortunate encounter with a family of bears.

The reality is that the three Palestinian "children" were in fact young men, no doubt doing the bidding of older men, and while they were setting traps, they weren't for birds. Unless "birds" is some hip new slang for "Israeli soldiers." In that case, yes, they were setting traps for birds.

For those of us who appreciate a more direct form of expression, the three Palestinians in question were shot after Israeli soldier discovered them planting explosives along the Gaza security fence. The reason for doing so? To kill Israeli soldiers. So, yeah, basically this was an act of self defense.

And that's how we got to a mob chanting "The people want to bomb Tel Aviv!"

So long as such willful ignorance rules the emotions of those involved in this conflict, no deal, regardless of its prominence of name, is going to bring genuine peace.

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Claiming Israel is 'Isolated' Just Got a Whole Lot Harder - Ryan Jones ISRAEL TODAY

Claiming Israel is 'Isolated' Just Got a Whole Lot Harder

Sunday, October 28, 2018 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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Israel? Isolated? Not really.

The claim by Palestinian nationalists and their sympathizers that Israel is globally ostracized for failing to as of yet facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state is easily debunked. As it so happens, Israel isn't even all that isolated within the Arab world.

For decades, the rest of the Middle East did indeed boycott the Jewish state. But that has been changing of late, and a couple of examples just this past week indicated a rapid acceleration of the normalization process.

Israelis were surprised over the weekend to wake up to newspaper headlines informing us that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had just returned from an official state visit to Oman.

Netanyahu was personally invited to the Omani capital of Muscat by the country's leader, Sultan Sayyid Qaboos bin Said Al Said, to discuss regional issues.

A day later, Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi addressed a security summit in Bahrain, where he urged the rest of the Arab Middle East to likewise embrace the Jewish state.

"Israel is a state present in the region, and we all understand this. The world is also aware of this and maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same [as other states] and to also bear the same obligations," bin Alawi told the IISS Manama Dialogue conference.

Also over the weekend, the United Arab Emirates hosted its annual Abu Dhadi Judo Grand Slam, and, for the first time ever, Israeli judokas were permitted to compete under their national flag.

Three Israelis won bronze medals, and the Israeli flag was on display as they were awarded by the Arab hosts.

More than that, Israel Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev was invited to attend the competition in her official capacity. Photos of Regev making friendly with UAE President Mohamed Bin Tha'loob Al Derai quickly made waves across the region.

These more recent encounters happened amid a general warming of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. While Jerusalem still has no official relations with any of these Arab countries, their willingness to publicly cuddle up to the Jewish state and its leaders represents a sea change since September 1, 1967, when these same countries joined the rest of the Arab world in signing the Khartoum Resolution outlawing any and all ties with Israel.

PHOTO: Netanyahu meeting with Sultan Qaboos at his palace in Muscat, Oman on October 26, 2018. (Israel Prime Minister's Office)

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Was Russia Just Waiting for an Excuse to Arm Syria? - Ryan Jones ISRAEL TODAY

Was Russia Just Waiting for an Excuse to Arm Syria?

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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Russia and Israel have been getting along surprisingly well considering that they are on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war.

Russia remains a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, and by extension its allies in Iran and Hezbollah. Israel, meanwhile, has been busily bombing Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria, with Moscow's tacit approval.

But Russia's final response to last week's accidental downing of a Russian spy plane during the course of an Israeli air raid on Syria suggests that the Kremlin hasn't been too happy about the Jewish state interfering in its war zone.

Contrary to claims by Israeli officials, Moscow did blame Israel for Syrian anti-aircraft batteries inadvertently shooting down a Russian spy plane that was flying near to where the Israeli aircraft had launched their missiles.

Ostensibly to prevent such a mishap from reoccurring, Russia has agreed to sell it's most advanced anti-aircraft system, the S-300, to the Syrian regime.

Russia tried to sell the S-300 to Syria years ago, but backed down following a fierce outcry from Israel and other Western powers. The loss of 15 Russian servicemen has finally given Moscow the excuse it needs to conclude the deal.

And that's bad news for Israel.

The Israel Air Force is innovative, and will likely find ways to continue striking Iranian targets in Syria despite the presence of the S-300, which Syria is expected to take possession of in the coming months.

More worrying is that Russia will have incentive to help the Syrians use the S-300 to its fullest potential in targeting and bringing down Israeli aircraft. After all, Moscow wouldn't want the world to think that it's most advanced anti-aircraft system is incapable of stopping Israel's American-made planes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Tuesday for New York City, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly and hold an urgent one-on-one meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Without question, the rising tension with Russia, as well as the unacceptable threat of Iranian forces in Syria, will be a major focus of those talks.

How Trump will respond is anyone's guess, but US National Security Adviser John Bolton has already called Russia's promise to give Syria the S-300 a "major mistake."

PHOTO: Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin have typically gotten along very well. But the current crisis threatens to derail Israeli-Russian cooperation in Syria. (Israeli Embassy in Russia)

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