CrossFireArabia, Author at CrossFireArarbia

Using Philadelphi to Block Hostages Deal

CrossFireArabia
September 5, 2024

Where do we go from here? Many people, including those in Israel are deeply frustrated with the prolonged war on Gaza because of the stubbornness of one man who for selfish reasons doesn’t want to stop the war on Gaza that has now been going on for the best part of a year.

Sources close to the Israeli government have revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deliberately undermining a potential prisoner deal that may be reached through American, Qatari and Egyptian mediation for his own political, personal gains and reasons.

According to an analysis published in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Netanyahu decided weeks ago he did not want a deal to free Israeli prisoners who remain in different parts of Gaza.

Netanayhu's declaration that Israel will retain control of the Philadelphi route serves his desire to maintain his unholy trinity: The prime ministership, incitement against the left, and the occupation / Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Bennhttps://t.co/Hwri5rXx95
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 4, 2024

This is despite the opportunities that have arisen over the past weeks and months for such a deal and despite the extensive efforts of teams and delegates going to and coming back from Doha and Cairo where endless negotiations tick almost round the clock.

Today, a further obstacle has been bolted in these talks that have tended to circle around the Netanyahu personality and character. He is now – and has been for the last couple of weeks at least – using the so-called Philadelphi Corridor—a 14-kilometer stretch along the Gaza-Egypt border — to bolster his position among his extreme rightwing allies in the cabinet and stop a deal in its tracks, one that would release the hostages and end the war on Hamas.

Philadelphi Corridor

By focusing public and media attention on the corridor, Netanyahu has effectively shifted attention and the narrative away from the issue of the fate of Israeli prisoners – now down to slightly more than 100 – and have turned the debate instead over so-called measures to do with Israeli’s security and the refusal to move out of the corridor which is presently occupied by Israeli troops and that is unacceptable to Hamas because it would establish a permenant Israeli presence there.

An Israeli government insider revealed that the staunch anti-ceasefire prime minister, and acting with near-total dictatorial authority, has kept any potential exchange deal from reaching the cabinet, implying that it is confined to him alone and within his office.

He said this unilateral approach, which has been pursued by Netanyahu over the past months has led to growing frustration among ministers in the government who recognize the sabotage but remain silent and have remained so in the past out of fear for their political survival and continuity in government.

“Netanyahu will pursue an endless war because that’s what is good for him,” the source stated, highlighting the prime minister’s willingness to prolong the conflict for personal and political advantage. This includes the legal consequences and court hearings he faces after the court.

The Haaretz analysis also criticizes the Israeli official narrative that Hamas will not agree to any deal, labeling it as a political ploy. This stance, coupled with Netanyahu’s declarations, has effectively killed any momentum for negotiations, leaving the fate of the prisoners hanging in the balance as reported in the Quds News Network.

News

Video: Israeli Hostages Say Netanyahu ‘Abandoned Us’

CrossFireArabia
September 4, 2024

An Israeli hostage said Hamas fighters moved him 10 times to protect him amid relentless Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip over a period of 11 months.

Alexander Lobanov made the claim in a video that was recorded before he was killed, and his body was found with the bodies of six other hostages and whose remains were recently recovered by the Israeli army in Gaza.

In the video released, Wednesday, by the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, Lobanov described the dire conditions he and other hostages have been facing in the last months.

“We are being held under extremely difficult conditions with basic necessities like water, food, electricity, and cleaning supplies unavailable,” he said.

“There is constant bombing all the time by the Israeli army. We are scared and can barely sleep,” he added in the video.

He noted that the al-Qassam fighters which represent the Hamas military wing moved him “approximately 10 times in order to preserve” his life.

BREAKING: HAMAS RELEASE DECEASED HOSTAGE VIDEO

Al-Qassam Brigades:

Carmel Gat: “I hope I have a family left to return to”

Alexander Lobanov: “And now you continue to fail in every attempt to release us alive”

Israeli Media won't want this to be seen – so you know what to do pic.twitter.com/4JtJQGA2aP
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) September 4, 2024

Lobanov directly addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in the videoclip. He accused them of long abandoning the mostly Israeli hostages who now stand at around 100 people.

“You have failed and abandoned us on 7 October,” he said. “And now, you continue to fail in every attempt to free us alive.”

He openly accused Netanyahu and his government of attempting to kill the hostages to avoid negotiating with Hamas over their release.

“You are trying to kill us to avoid making any deal,” he said in a firm but desperate tone.

Lobanov urged Israelis to protest and take to the streets to demand his release and the rest of the hostages and their return from Gaza alive.

The al-Qassam Brigades released the video featuring Lobanov alongside another hostage, Carmel Gat, who was also killed in Gaza in one of the underground tunnels in Rafah.

The Israeli military announced Sunday that their bodies, along with the bodies of four other hostages, had been recovered, according to Anadolu.

The video also showed Gat, from the Be’eri settlement near Gaza, speaking about the difficult conditions she was enduring. “The bombing [by Israel] doesn’t stop, and I don’t know if I will get out of here alive,” said Gat.

She pleaded with the Israeli government and Netanyahu, saying: “Please stop abandoning us, stop this bombing, and bring us home.”

Gat also urged Israelis to continue protesting as a way to increase pressure on the government to secure their release rather than undermine it.

“Don’t abandon us and don’t let anyone shut down negotiations for our release,” he said.

The army accused Hamas of killing the hostages, while Hamas said the Israeli military killed them through direct aerial bombardment.

Israel is holding at least 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and estimates that 101 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza. Hamas has announced that dozens of the estimated 250 hostages have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli air strikes.

Since the discovery of the six captives’ bodies, there has been growing criticism in Israel, blaming Netanyahu for their deaths and urging him to move quickly to reach a deal to exchange the remaining captives.

Security officials, the opposition and the families of the captives have long accused Netanyahu of deliberatly obstructing a deal with Hamas.

But far-right ministers including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to withdraw from the government and bring it down if a deal to end the war is reached.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for months to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire deal and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Hersh Goldberg polin Z"L, Eden yerushalmi Z"L, Ori danino Z"L Alexander Lobanov Z"L, ,Almog Sarusi and Carmel Gat Z"L. 💔
To spend almost a year fighting every day and receive this terrible news… There are no words. We are all devastated.May their memories always be a blessing. pic.twitter.com/tlHzsMmFIG
— Eden sissonn (@eden_sissonn) September 4, 2024

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since the 7 October, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 injured, according to local health authorities according to the Turkish news agency.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

News

Jenin: ‘We Will Only Raise The Palestinian Flag Here’

CrossFireArabia
September 4, 2024

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their onslaught on Jenin and its camp for the eighth consecutive day.

The onslaught resulted in the killing of 19 people, the injury and arrest of dozens with widespread destruction of citizens’ properties and infrastructure, including water and electricity networks, according to Wafa.

Israeli bulldozers try to run over a Palestinian journalist whilst he was covering the Israeli invasion of Jenin city. pic.twitter.com/HM9RGAuZVW
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) September 2, 2024

On Tuesday, 16-year-od Lujain Abdul Raouf was killed, and four journalists injured, including WAFA photojournalists Muhammad Mansour and Ayman Noubani, in an Israeli army siege of a house in the village of Kafr Dan, west of Jenin.

The occupation forces also raided several houses in the Al-Hadaf neighborhood on the outskirts of Jenin camp, tampered with their contents and destroyed their furniture.

An elderly Palestinian activist Khairy Hanoun stated during his presence in the city of Jenin, “We will not raise the white flag; we will only raise the Palestinian flag," defiantly resisting the ongoing Israeli aggression. pic.twitter.com/uTKKiU8zUK
— Kuffiya (@Kuffiyateam) September 3, 2024

The occupation forces stormed the Al-Zahraa neighborhood in the city and bulldozed the infrastructure and streets, while water continues to be cut off from most of the city’s neighborhoods and the camp.

Destroying streets

The occupation forces continue to destroy the center of Jenin city, as the occupation bulldozers razed Cinema Street and large parts of Hospitals Street to the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, and destroyed shops in the Cinema Roundabout area and re-razed the Post Street.

The occupation bulldozers attacked a group of journalists while they were covering the destruction of the Cinema Roundabout and the surrounding shops, and opened fire directly at them, which resulted in their injury.

In Al-Jabariyat neighborhood, the occupation forces stormed the house of the detainee Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and detained his brother Yahya after vandalizing and destroying the contents of the house.

The occupation forces also continued their large-scale detention campaigns of young men in the Jenin camp and the villages of Al-Silah Al-Harithiya, Al-Yamoun and Kafr Dan west of Jenin.

Eighth day of siege in Jenin, West Bank. 80% of the city’s water, electricity and telecommunications infrastructures destroyed by the Israeli military. Hospitals surrounded and struggling with providing basic services. pic.twitter.com/wMJDgbNl2o pic.twitter.com/pJcdHLP3DM
— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) September 4, 2024

They stormed the town of Qabatiya fired at citizens’ houses, Tuesday night, and resulted in the shooting of a young man in the chest while he was inside his home.

The Israeli army also detained an ambulance crew while transporting an emergency medical case to the Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital in Jenin and assaulted a number of them.

The Israeli occupation forces stormed the village of Muthalath Al-Shuhada, south of Jenin, deployed snipers on the roofs of several houses, raided six houses, detained a number of citizens before withdrawing from the town according to the Palestinian news agency.

News

Colombia Uni: First Protest Against Gaza Genocide

CrossFireArabia
September 4, 2024

A large group of Columbia University students gathered at the university gates on the first day of the academic semester, reigniting protests that began last year in opposition to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The students called for an academic and economic boycott of Israel and urged their peers to boycott the first day of classes in response to the destruction of universities in Gaza according to the Quds News Network.

Analyses

Israeli Army: No Deal Puts Hostages’ Lives in Great Danger

CrossFireArabia
September 4, 2024

The Israeli army warned the Benjamin Netanyahu government that without reaching an agreement with Hamas, any large-scale military operation in Gaza would endanger the lives of the Israeli hostages, Hebrew media reported, Tuesday.

Israel holds at least 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in its jails whilest it is estimated 101 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza. The Palestinian group Hamas announced that dozens of these hostages have been killed due to indiscriminate Israeli air strikes all over the Gaza Strip.

“The IDF (army) made it clear to the political echelons [government] that without a deal [with Hamas], it must be understood that any extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip has a meaning — risking the lives of abductees,” Yedioth Ahronoth reported according to Anadolu.

The Israeli newspaper cited an unnamed senior military official who said “the cabinet will have to decide whether it takes responsibility for the lives of the abductees.”

6 Israeli hostages

The report added the military has intensified its warnings to the government since discovering the bodies of six Israeli hostages in a tunnel in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza last Saturday.

The Netanyahu government is accusing Hamas for the killing of these hostages, while the movement maintain they were killed in an Israeli airstrike as part of the Israeli ongoing war in Gaza that literally decimated the enclave as 50,000 bombs were dropped on the territory according to Haaretz.

The deaths of the hostages have sparked a new wave of anger in Israel against Netanyahu, with daily protests taking place holding him personally responsible for their deaths and demanding that he makes a deal with Hamas to exchange the remaining hostages originally at 250.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to reach an accord between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

But mediation efforts failed with Netanyahu frustrating every effort by the Israeli delegates to reach a deal with Hamas over the past 11 months or so. He monitored his team – who frequently travelled to Doha and Cairo to hitch a deal – to the minutest details and the delegates have not been allowed any leeway in the negotiations without returning to him first.

A key sticking point in the hostages/ceasfire talks is Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining the Israeli military’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized zone along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Hamas on the other hand demands a complete withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and says no meaningful negotiations can take place if the Israeli military wants to stay there.

Philadelphi Corridor

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agrees there should be a withdrawal for the sake of the hostages. He recently stated that Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of a deal would not pose a security threat to his country.

But not so for Netanyahu. In a press conference Monday, he said that achieving the war goals that he set “requires maintaining the Philadelphi Corridor.” He emphasized Israel will never withdraw from the corridor.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack on 7 October, 2023 by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The onslaught resulted in more than 40,800 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 94,300 injuries, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.