From an Extremist to Another: ‘Faith is Lost’

CrossFireArabia
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August 10, 2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Saturday he has lost confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war position on the Gaza Strip.

The far-right minister was referring to his objection to the “gradual plan” to fully occupy the enclave, as he favors an immediate and sweeping military operation coupled with Israeli settlement in Gaza according to Anadolu.

Smotrich, who advocates for the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza alongside its settlement, said in a video on X: “In the last cabinet meeting (early Friday), I lost faith that the Prime Minister can and wants to lead the Israeli army to decisive victory.”

The Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “gradual plan” to fully occupy Gaza and displace Palestinians from the north to the south, a move that has faced opposition from Israeli security leaders due to the danger it poses to the lives of captives that Hamas is holding as leverage, and Israeli soldiers.

Downplaying the plan, Smotrich added: “Netanyahu and the cabinet decided to carry out a military operation whose goal is not victory, but to pressure Hamas for a partial prisoner deal.”

The far-right minister urged Netanyahu to “convene the cabinet again and announce unequivocally that there will be no stopping halfway, no partial deal — this time we go for a decisive, clear step toward victory.”

Smotrich has consistently opposed calls to limit Israeli action in Gaza to airstrikes, insisting on continuing the war until Palestinians are displaced for the purpose of settlement.

Israel has faced mounting outrage for its deadly war on Gaza, where more than 61,300 victims have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Palestinian Woman Dies Waiting For an Ambulance at Israeli Checkpoint

CrossFireArabia
July 19, 2026

CROSSFIREARABIA – A 30-year-old Palestinian woman died because Israeli soldiers wouldn’t allow an ambulance to pass at an electronic checkpoint leading to the village of Sinjil which is located north-east of Ramallah. According to Sinjil Mayor Mutaz Tawafsha the ambulance had to wait more than 30 minutes before it was allowed to pass the checkpoint by which time, Sujood Fuqhaa, who had suffered from a heartache, died. Tawafsha said in such cases time is of the essence and young mother of two, could have been taken to hospital and treated if the ambulance had not been stopped by the Israelis, blaming the iron security checkpoints for the continual deaths of the people of Sinjil. Her death comes at a town when Sinjil was subjected to a raid by 100 Israeli settlers recently according to local Palestinian sources. The settlers fired arms on the local people and set fire to their crops. This is just the latest for Sanjil is continually raided under the protection of the Israeli army according to the Palestine Information Center.

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