Netanyahu’s Gift to Hamas, Word on the Street
J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes, “If anyone has consistently empowered Hamas over the past 15 years, it is Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies.”
J Street Responds to Doha Strike, J Street
J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg said, “You can vehemently oppose Hamas’ commitment to terror and its vile leadership and also recognize that by targeting negotiators, this strike will undermine what should be the top priority – getting hostages home, ending the war and surging aid into Gaza.”
Israeli Officials Said to Doubt Success of Strike on Hamas Leaders in Doha, Times of Israel
“‘Right now there’s no indication that the terrorists were killed,’ an anonymous source was quoted telling Channel 12 news. ‘We continue to hope they were assassinated, but optimism is fading.’”
Israel’s Attack in Qatar Infuriated Trump Advisers, Officials Say, Axios
“The news stunned the White House and infuriated some of Trump’s top advisers because it came as the U.S. was waiting for Hamas to respond to President Trump’s new proposal for peace in Gaza.”
Anti-Islamic US Biker Gang Members Run Security at Deadly Gaza Aid Sites,
“BBC News has confirmed the identities of 10 members of the Infidels Motorcycle Club working in Gaza for UG Solutions – a private contractor providing security at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, where hundreds of civilians seeking food have been killed in scenes of chaos and gunfire.”
EU Leader Calls for Sanctions Against Israel Over the War in Gaza, Associated Press
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she will seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza.”
Families Fear for Hostages After Israel’s Strike on Hamas in Doha, Reuters
“Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was kidnapped from his Kibbutz in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that triggered the war in Gaza, said she was trembling with fear that her son’s fate has now been sealed.”
Iran and Nuclear Watchdog Sign Agreement Seeking Path to Restart Cooperation, NPR
“Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told reporters the agreement addresses his country’s concerns and security challenges and lays out technical requirements for cooperation with the IAEA. But he warned that in the event of ‘any hostile act’ against Iran, including the reimposition of U.N. sanctions, Tehran would regard the agreement with the IAEA as terminated.”
Can the UN General Assembly Save Palestine From Israel’s Gaza and West Bank Catastrophes?, Haaretz
Hussein Ibish writes, “The virtually unspeakable truth is that Netanyahu’s gang of far-right radicals fear the PA and the PLO, who recognized Israel in 1993 without any reciprocal recognition and still seek a two-state solution, more than Hamas. This seems counter-intuitive unless you understand that the prime directive driving this government is not the destruction of Hamas. It is the annexation of the occupied West Bank.”
Why Netanyahu Doesn’t Want Macron in Israel, Jerusalem Post
J Street leader Sebastien Levi writes, “Netanyahu needs to present the war in Gaza as existential and avoid any discussion about diplomacy or the day after, to ensure his political survival and justify a war that has lost the international and domestic legitimacy it had in the beginning. Macron’s vision presents an alternative path and opens the possibility of showing Israelis that the world is not against Israel and that eternal war is not the only way forward.”
The Quiet Part Netanyahu Won’t Say Out Loud: It’s Either the Hostages or Hamas, Haaretz
Zvi Bar’el writes, “In the devilish equation of someone as bluntly honest as Smotrich, there’s no room for two goals in the war. It’s either the hostages or Hamas, and the choice has already been made. All that’s left is to calculate how many towers in the Strip equal 48 hostages, some of whom are already dead.”