The Swap of Hamas Terrorists for Jews

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                    

Palestinian prisoners [wearing grey jumpers] that were released from the Israeli Ofer military facility in exchange for captives freed by Hamas in Gaza, wave flags and chant slogans as they are paraded in Baytunia in Judea/Samaria. [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]                                              

     A Hamas leader, Ashraf Zughayer, seated with a green scarf, in East Jerusalem in January, after his release from prison in one of the cease-fire exchanges between Israel and Hamas. Credit...Afif Amireh for The New York Times

Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released from Israeli jails in recent weeks, in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages freed by Hamas. Many of the Palestinians released, like Ashraf Zughayer, had life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, while others — 33:2000 ratio?  Is that the best we can do?  

including women and minors — had been held in administrative detention without charges or sentences, but were caught aiding and abetting other terrorists or mimicking them.   More than half of the Palestinians were sent to Gaza. But several hundred were released to their families in the Judea/Samaria — and they allege harassment, arrests and intimidation by Israel after they were freed. Of course they would.  Don't most doing a dastardly deed plead innocence?   

Zughayer was arrested in 2002 for being a member of the Palestinian militant group,  Hamas, and driving a suicide bomber to an attack on a Tel Aviv bus that killed six people. He was sentenced to 600 years. KUFR AQAB, East Jerusalem — Ashraf Zughayer was given two days' notice before being released from Israeli jail after more than two decades (20 yrs) .

Security officials estimate that 80% of the thousands of terrorists released in the hostage deal will resume terror activities. Many of the released prisoners are experienced terrorists with the knowledge and networks to reestablish terrorist cells, secure funding and weapons, and recruit new terrorists.                                                                          

     Security Operations by IDF Expanded in Judea/Samaria

Security officials have also noted a significant increase in the flow of weapons and funds into  Judea/Samaria, heightening the threat of terror attacks. The IDF is continuing to operate against terror cells in northern Samaria, including Jenin, a hotbed of terrorists,  and is killing and arresting many terrorists, but other terrorists are leaving the area and setting up shop in other locations outside of the IDF's dragnet. 

An IDF soldier in Judea and Samaria helping an old Palestinian man. This is the Israel Defense Forces.

                                                    

           IDF kills Islamic Jihad commander in Judea and Samaria - JNS.org

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that troops had killed five more

 militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including a senior commander 

of a Hamas-allied group, as eyewitnesses said the IDF operation there continued.

. Israel launched its largest West Bank military operation in years overnight

 on Wednesday, and says it has killed a total of 14 militants since then.

The Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group issued a statement Thursday confirming 

the death of its commander in Judea/Samaria Tulkarem area (below), saying 

Mohammed Jaber, also known as Abu Shujaa, died during a "confrontation 

                Tulkarem                               

with the IDF soldiers" in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem.

                                                

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has canceled all routine holiday leaves for soldiers, saying the army must remain on alert year-round in the wake of Oct. 7.

Tulkarm or Tulkarem (Arabic: طولكرم, Ṭūlkarm) is a Palestinian city in Judea/Samaria, said by them to be the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine of which is non-existent. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin are to the east. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2017 Tulkarm had a population of 64,532. Tulkarm is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority  (PA). 

   The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is intractable. One binational state is impossible, given that the two sides – Jews and Arabs -- have irreconcilable national projects (goals). The two-state scenario has also proven elusive with Palestinians refusing to recognize Jewish nationhood.  So wrote Abdul al Abdul, Iraq journalist.    

Palestinian Authority Versus Al Jazeera News in English

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          

"Al Jazeera English (AJE; is a 24-hour English-language news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partially funded by the government of Doha, Qatar. " It's the spokespeople for the Arab communities giving English speakers their viewpoints.  

    Mahmoud Abbas, head of PA, and Pope Francis ( Jorge Mario Bergoglio) 

The Palestinian Authority (PA)  officially announced its decision to suspend Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and freeze the network’s operations in PA-controlled territories. The PA accused the channel of violating Palestinian laws by broadcasting "provocative content" characterized by "deception, incitement to rebellion, sabotage and interference in internal Palestinian affairs." 

Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is the first global English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East." I've used them a few times as a reference source when they've had more pertinent information than our own major sources have had.  

Al Jazeera is known for its in-depth and frontline reporting particularly in conflict zones such as the Arab Spring, the Gaza–Israel conflict and others. Al Jazeera's coverage of the Arab Spring won the network numerous awards, including the Peabody Award. It positions itself as an alternative media platform to the dominance of Western media outlets like CNN and BBC, focusing on narrative reporting where subjects present their own stories.

Al Jazeera English and Iran's state-run Press TV were the only international English-language television broadcasters with journalists reporting from inside both Gaza and Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel-Gaza conflict. Foreign press access to Gaza has been limited via either Egypt or Israel. However, Al Jazeera's reporters Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros were already inside Gaza when the conflict began.                                      

HAMAS LEADERS: (Clockwise top left: Marwan Issa; Khaled Meshaal;

 Mahmoud Zahar; Yehiya Sinwar; Ismail Haniyeh; Mohammed Deif)

Many of Hamas's top leaders have been killed since the group's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, dealing it a severe blow.

The Palestinian Authority, officially known as the Palestinian National Authority or the State of Palestine- as yet an unofficial claim, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. 

The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. 

Since January 2013, following United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, without prejudice to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) role as "representative of the Palestinian people".  So, there is this competition as to who will rule;  PLO or PA.  

Hamas terrorists condemned the PA’s decision, calling it "a blatant violation of press freedom" and accusing the PA of silencing dissent. [Can't make this stuff up!]

Al Jazeera has been banned three times by the Iraqi government, most recently in 2016 where officials accused it of "inciting violence and sectarianism." Iraqi authorities had long perceived Al-Jazeera's media coverage as hostile to Iraq's Shi’ite majority (which follows Iran's Shi'ite community) and too friendly toward the Islamic State. In 2013, the broadcaster was accused by many Iraqi government supporters of backing Arab spring protests in the country.

On December 29, 2013, Egyptian security forces arrested three Al Jazeera English journalists—Australian Peter Greste, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed—at Cairo's Marriott Hotel, accusing them of reporting news damaging to national security.

On 4 May 2024, the Israeli government shut down Al Jazeera in Israel and authorized the seizure of its equipment, after passage of a new law giving the prime minister and communications minister the authority to order the temporary closure of foreign networks operating in the country on national security grounds. On 22 September 2024, Israeli army authorities closed down Al Jazeera's bureau in Ramallah in Central West Bank (Judea/Samaria) north of Jerusalem  in what they called "occupied Palestine". The Board of Directors of the Foreign Press Association reacted: "Restricting foreign reporters and closing news channels signals a shift away from democratic values."

Al Jazeera journalist, Hossam Shabat, has been injured while reporting on an Israeli attack that hit a house in Gaza City. There have been reports of their reporters having been killed while on a story, being in the way of the fighting, usually, hit accidently. It's dangerous work.

We remember On 1 February 2002, Jewish-American journalist,  Daniel Pearl of The Wall Street Journal was decapitated by Al-Qaeda terrorists, nine days after being kidnapped by the group.   Journalists would receive an email with photos of Pearl with a gun to his head and holding up a newspaper. The terrorist group demanded the release of Pakistani terrorists held at the Guantanamo prison camp and the release of a halted U.S. shipment of F-16 fighter jets to the Pakistani government in exchange for Pearl.  

Weeks later, on 21 February 2002, the terrorists released a video entitled “The Slaughter of the Spy-Journalist, the Jew Daniel Pearl,” in which Pearl addresses the camera mere moments before his decapitation. “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish,” declares Pearl, adding, “Back in the town of Bnei Brak, there is a street named after my great-grandfather Chaim Pearl, who is one of the founders of the town.” 

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67103298

https://www.google.com/search?q=Daniel+Pearl%2C+picture&sca_esv=dfa57c05b4e3cad6&sxsrf=ADLYWIJJcz63NHO1KyiVlv_xtjPna_nfUg%3A1735846107508&source=hp&ei=2-h2Z6TwG9Wb0PEPw-nI-Qo&iflsig=AL9hbdgAAAAAZ3b26y

Erdogan Claims Cutting Ties of Diplomacy and Trade With Israel

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                   

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, age 70;  (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014.

In the wake of criticism in local media of Turkey's 'secret financial ties', Turkish president – who has spoken out harshly against Netanyahu since the beginning of the war – tells reporters that his country has severed relations with Israel; Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv is still operating and Jerusalem says not informed about cut in ties.  

The Ottoman Empire (Turkey)  took over the land of modern-day Israel in 1516 and ruled it until 1917-end of WWI: holding it for about 400 years.  No, Turks are not Arabs; they are a distinct ethnic group with their own language and cultural heritage, completely separate from Arabs, although they may share geographical proximity and some historical interactions due to the Ottoman Empire; the Turkish language belongs to the Turkic language family while Arabic is a Semitic language, making them linguistically different as well. However, they are both Muslims.  According to the state, 99.8% of the population is initially registered as Muslim. The remaining 0.2% are Christians and adherents of other officially recognized religions such as Judaism. As much as 90% of the population follows Sunni Islam.

Turkey, the one time Ottoman Empire, has a leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,  that is envious of their previous position in the world and keeps wishing to go back into history, no doubt.  He has severed relations of a sort with Syria so far. In January 2018, the Turkish military and its allies Syrian National Army and Sham Legion began Operation Olive Branch in Afrin in Northern Syria, against the Kurdish armed group YPG. In October 2019, the United States gave the go-ahead to the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, despite recently agreeing to a Northern Syria Buffer Zone. U.S. troops in northern Syria were withdrawn from the border to avoid interference with the Turkish operation. After the U.S. pullout, Turkey proceeded to attack the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Rejecting criticism of the invasion, Erdoğan claimed that NATO and European Union countries "sided with terrorists, and all of them attacked us". 

Erdoğan then filed a criminal complaint against French magazine Le Point after it accused him of conducting ethnic cleansing in the area. With Erdogan's control of the media fanning local nationalism, a poll by Metropoll Research found that 79% of Turkish respondents expressed support for the operation.

                                   Turkish guards in Jerusalem 

What early Jews making the move to Palestine in the late 1800s met up with from Ottoman Empire;  their army.  

 The Empire captured Salonica in 1430 and Constantinople in 1432.  After 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, the Ottoman Empire was a refuge for  Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal.  Salonika is Greece's second largest city and the capital of Macedonia. It's located in northern Greece and is one of the oldest cities in Europe.  Constantinople is in modern-day Turkey and is now known as Istanbul: Istanbul is located in both Europe and Asia, straddling the Bosporus strait. The city was originally settled by ancient Greeks in the seventh century B.C. as Byzantium. It was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and later the Ottoman Empire. The city was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.

Erdoğan visited Israel on 1 May 2005, a gesture unusual for a leader of a Muslim majority country. During his trip, Erdoğan visited the Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. 

The President of Israel, Shimon Peres, addressed the Turkish parliament during a visit in 2007, the first time an Israeli leader had addressed the legislature of a predominantly Muslim nation.

                     Map showing Turkey and Israel, both on the Mediterranean

Relations between Turkey and Israel began to normalize after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu officially apologized for the death of the nine Turkish activists during the Gaza flotilla raid. However, in response to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Erdoğan accused Israel of being "more barbaric than Hitler", and conducting "state terrorism" and a "genocide attempt" against the Palestinians.  This is like the pot calling the kettle "black."  Israel, the target/victims  of terrorists-PLO, Hamas, and Hezbollah, has become the aggressor of the terrorists, now the victims in Erdogan's eyes, as well of the eyes of other neighbors.  It just happens that the victim is the only Jewish country while the terrorists are all representatives of the Islamic persuasion.  Israel, like a sore thumb, stands out as the only Jewish nation in the world.  

Turkey, a NATO country, has given Netanyahu a bad time over Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, claiming them all for the Arabs. However, some have questioned Turkey's membership in NATO, noting that Turkey has been courting adversaries of the US, such as Russia, Iran, and China. Some say that Turkey's membership in NATO no longer serves its goals, and that NATO members should suspend cooperation with Turkey and work to secure its departure.

 Erdoğan condemned the Israel–UAE peace agreement, stating that Turkey was considering suspending or cutting off diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates in retaliation.  The relations shifted back to normality since 2021, when the two countries started improving relations. In March 2022, Israeli president Isaac Herzog visited Turkey, meeting Erdoğan. The two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations in August 2022.

Erdoğan condemned the Israeli attacks in the Gaza strip during 2023 Israel–Hamas war, saying they are a violation of human rights, which led to accusations of hypocrisy as Turkey itself severely bombed Kurdish areas at the same time, including many civilian targets. Erdoğan said that Israel's bombing and blockade of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas’ attack was a disproportionate response amounting to a "massacre." On 25 October 2023, Erdoğan said that Hamas was not a terrorist organization but a liberation group fighting to protect Palestinian lands and people. On 15 November 2023, he condemned Israel as a "terrorist state" and accused it of committing genocide against the Palestinians.

You can always depend on people like Erdogan to turn a situation completely around

 and favor the enemy, instead.  They do it at every opportunity.  

Resource:

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1hqygfgye

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recep_Tayyip_Erdo%C4%9Fan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Turkey#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20state%2C%2099.8,the%20population%20follows%20Sunni%20Islam.

Israel's and Other Supreme Courts of the World and What They Are Made Up Of

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

  Knesset in Jerusalem. It is a single chamber parliament.   This permanent building was finished in 1966. Created in 1949, it has 120 seats.  All male and female citizens vote above the age of 18. Candidates must be above the age of 25.   

Members of the Knesset have certain privileges and immunities, especially immunity from arrest, which can only be waived by the Knesset as a whole.  Language is all in Hebrew but there are translators for Arab members.  Speeches in Arabic are translated into Hebrew.  There is no presidential power to veto laws passed by the Knesset, nor has the Israel Supreme Court the power of the US Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional, as there is no complete written constitution.  

  Wonder women of new cabinet:  

With this new government sworn in on June 13,2021 Israel is boasting the highest number of female ministers in a government since the state’s founding: One-third of Israel’s 27 Cabinet ministers are women and three of them are members of the powerful security Cabinet.  Israel also now has the highest number of women, seven, holding the most senior professional positions in Israeli public service including director-general – the most powerful role in a ministry.  And just like the coalition itself, the nine ministers have widely different backgrounds ranging from far right to far left and another who is one of two Knesset members with disabilities.  After two years of repeated elections and failed attempts at forming a coalition, this new government has made history in many ways including becoming the first coalition to include a Muslim party and the swearing in of the first member of Knesset who is deaf, Shirley Pinto.

        The head of the Supreme Court is also a woman, Esther Hayut.    

Israel, born in 1948, already had an Israel’s "Constitutional Revolution."

Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the swift drafting of a written constitution for the new country.  That did not happen.  Instead, beginning in 1958, the Knesset enacted 11 “Basic Laws” which establish the country’s basic political institutions.  Of these, the most consequential for the Supreme Court (in addition to, of course, the Basic Law on the Judiciary) have been the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty and the Basic Law on Freedom of Occupation, enacted in 1992 (though the latter was replaced by a revised version in 1994). The Supreme Court interpreted the 1992 Laws as implicitly affording the Court the power of judicial review.  

The watershed decision was United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal Cooperative Village (1995).  In his opinion in Mizrahi, President Barak described passage of the 1992 Basic Laws as "a constitutional revolution."  That phrase is often quoted, though generally with regard to the Mizrahi decision itself rather than the Basic Laws on which it relied.

      Netanyahu and Hertzog in front sitting

Now Netanyahu's decision about the Supreme Court has shook up his population  Under pressure from protests, Netanyahu's coalition already tabled the most controversial part of the plan, which would give the ruling government the power to override the Supreme Court. The push for more control widely is seen as a preemptive step toward enacting a controversial legislative agenda  and they are demonstrating according to NPR, an American opinion who think that Netanyahu's government thinks the Supreme Court is too liberal and blocks policies promoted by ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox politicians.  

               Benjamin Netanyahu, just taken to hospital for dehydration and possible chest pains.  After all-night hospitalization, Sheba Medical Center says premier’s heart is ‘completely normal’ and that doctors used a subcutaneous Holter monitor ‘as is customary.’ Sheba is said to be the best hospital in Israel.  

 Netanyahu now has Orthodox Jewish ministers who have different expectations for Judea and Samaria than the usual.  Biden has not asked Netanyahu to Washington, but just gave an invitation to Hertzog, the President of Israel who is on his way now.  That's a snub to Netanyahu.  

FINANCE MINISTER BEZALEL SMOTRICH

A West Bank settler who heads the hardline Religious Zionism party, Smotrich will lead the Treasury under a rotation deal with Aryeh Deri from the religious Shas Party. After raising concern by saying Israel would prosper if it embraced biblical values, Smotrich has clarified that he champions free markets.Smotrich, 42, opposes Palestinian statehood. In the past, he has agitated against Israel's Arab minority citizens, condemned LGBT activists and called the justice system too liberal. He now says he will serve all Israelis.His new cabinet duties include a role within the Defence Ministry overseeing West Bank settlements, which he wants to see expanded and, eventually, annexed by Israel. He previously served as transport minister. 

Update: 7/21/23  I believe I know why Smotrich is for building in all areas of A,B, and C.  It happens that this is what the Palestinians have been doing; ignoring the law of where each are allowed to build and they could in A and B only.  C was reserved according to the Oslo Accords to Jewish building.  So he figures, why not Israel, then?                    

INTERIOR AND HEALTH MINISTER ARYEH DERI

Deri, 63, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, is the veteran leader of Shas, which draws support from religious Jews of Middle Eastern descent. His appointment to the new Netanyahu government has been challenged in Israel's Supreme Court given his conviction for tax fraud - without prison time - last year.

In 1999, Deri was sentenced to three years in jail for taking bribes. He returned to politics in 2012. Under his coalition deal, he will become finance minister in two years.

Shas, along with another ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism, has long raised concerns among secular liberals by demanding welfare benefits and military draft exemptions for its constituents.

So, what is life like in other countries for a Supreme Court?

In October 2009, The British UK Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court's 12 Justices maintain the highest standards set by the Appellate Committee, but are now explicitly separate from both Government and Parliament.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom’s highest appellate court for these matters, it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.

This is distinguished by the number, 12 judges.  This means they can have a draw of 6 to 6.  In the USA, there are 9 judges, an uneven number, and in Israel, the Supreme Court currently consists of 15 justices; that number is established by the Knesset and has varied over the years.  

France has  unique Supreme Court of many levels.  The Court of Cassation (French: Cour de cassation [kuʁ də ka.sa.sjɔ̃]) is the supreme court for civil and criminal cases in France. It is one of the country's four apex courts, along with the Council of State, the Constitutional Council and the Jurisdictional Disputes Tribunal. It primarily hears appeals against the decisions of courts of assizes and courts of appeal (appeals-in-cassation). The Court only reviews questions of law (but not questions of fact) and bears ultimate responsbility for a uniform interpretation and application of statutory law throughout France. It also filters out appeals challenging the constitutionality of statutes before forwarding them to the Counstitutional Council, reviews lower court verdicts on request of the European Court of Human Rights and hears several other types of cases.

Being Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East, there is no other country to compare with there.France is a Republic, and there's no current royal family recognized by the French state. Still, there are thousands of French citizens who have titles and can trace their lineage back to the French Royal Family and nobility. According to a report from the BBC, there are between 50,000 and 100,000 people who claim to be "aristocrats."

England is ruled by a king or queen, but does have a Democratic system with a parliament.  

Resource:

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2023/07/comparison-of-democracy-of-usa-and.html

https://allisrael.com/the-wonder-women-of-the-israeli-cabinet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom

https://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/about-supreme-court-israel#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20currently%20consists,has%20varied%20over%20the%20years.

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/27/1166200532/israel-civil-war-netanyahu-court-control#:~:text=Under%20pressure%20from%20protests%2C%20Netanyahu's,enacting%20a%20controversial%20legislative%20agenda

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/top-ministers-israels-new-religious-nationalist-cabinet-2022-12-29/.