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.    

Precious Lives of USA and Israel and How They Are Remembered in May

 Nadene Goldfoot     

   U.S. soldiers and Israeli soldiers pose for a photo during Austere      Challenge 12 in Hazor, Israel

The 2012 US-Israel military defense drill, codenamed Austere Challenge 12, was a military exercise between the United States, Israeli military, Germany and U.K., that took place in late October 2012.

The joint exercises were expected to test Israeli and American air defense systems, particularly Israel's ballistic missile defense against incoming missiles and rockets. A EUCOM commander would be responsible for approving Israeli requests to deploy US missile defense systems in Israel.

Senior American and Israeli defense officials discussed the possibility of postponing the exercise to late 2012. On January 13, 2012, it was postponed to October. Israeli military officials said the U.S government requested to delay the drill so as "not to heighten tensions" with Iran. A day prior to the cancellation, senior IAF officers said the drill was scheduled for Spring. The exercise is also expected to be the first time the EUCOM commander James Stavridis will participate in a multilateral drill with Israel.

Israel's foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said "diplomatic and regional reasons, the tensions and instability" were factors in delaying the exercise. Mark Regev, the spokesman for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States made the decision to delay the exercise "because it was not the right time.”

Although a report in August alleged that the number of troops involved was being reduced from 5,000 to about 1,000, in order to reduce the perception that the exercise was a cover for an attack on Iran, it was later reported that the size of the drill and the number of troops participating had not changed. Brigadier General Nitzan Nuriel, said that the matter was one "of logistics," and that the number of troops had hardly changed."  

This was to practice together to save their lives.  

                                

                                 Visiting soldier's graves at a cemetery 
     

Today is Memorial Day in the USA.  Most all stores close in remembrance.Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties. 

                                               

The holiday is observed on the last Monday of May. The holiday was observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970.Since the Revolutionary War of 1776 ended, 646,596 American troops have died in battle and more than 539,000 died from other, non-combat related causes.                                          

IDF Military Uniform 35 by Guy 191484

In Israel, they have Yom HaZikaron from May 3rd to May  4th..  Yom HaZikaron is the national remembrance day observed in Israel for all Israeli military personnel who lost their lives in the struggle that led to the establishment of the State of Israel and for those who have been killed subsequently while on active duty in Israel's armed forces. Enacted into law in 1963. While Yom HaZikaron has been traditionally dedicated to fallen soldiers, commemoration has also been extended to civilian victims of terrorism.Yom HaZikaron  As of Yom HaZikaron 2021, that number was 23,928.

                                                            

The day opens with a siren the preceding evening at 20:00 (8:00 pm), given that in the Hebrew calendar system, a day begins at sunset. The siren is heard all over the country and lasts for one minute, during which Israelis stop everything, including driving on highways, and stand in silence, commemorating the fallen and showing respect.

By law, all places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Yom HaZikaron, and broadcasting and educational bodies note the solemnity of the day. Regular television programs cease for the day, and the names and ranks of every soldier who died for Israel are displayed in a 24-hour television broadcast.                  

Since the founding of the state, Israel has chosen the Dam Hamaccabim flower (Hebrew: דם המכבים, "Blood of the Maccabees") as the national memorial flower. The flower is depicted in many memorial sites and can be seen worn as stickers on shirts and jackets throughout Yom HaZikaron. Since 2019, the non-profit organization Dam HaMaccabim has been distributing pins with the real Red Everlasting flower throughout Israel and the United States.

Between 1948 and 1997, 20,093 Israeli soldiers were killed in combat, 75,000 Israelis were wounded, and nearly 100,000 Israelis were considered disabled army veterans.

In the White Paper of 1939 the British government limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to 75,000 over the following five years. European Jews were anxious for ways to leave Europe, but for the most part there were few options. No countries were willing to take Jewish immigrants. However, some Eastern European states were willing to give transit visas. During World War II, many countries denied or severely limited Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, and Palestine was one of the few destinations available.

In post-Holocaust Europe, the 1,000,000 Jewish survivors were classified as "non-repatrifiable" by the Austrian and German government. In other words, Jews were not "officially allowed to leave the countries of Central and East Europe" by the allied powers, nor were they permitted to settle in Palestine by the British.

An unknown number of Jewish refugees perished en route from European ports to Palestine, and over 30,000 holocaust survivors who successfully immigrated were interned by the British in POW camps. Many immigrant ships were sunk during the British blockade.

Resource:

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_US-Israel_military_exercise

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_HaZikaron#:~:text=Yom%20HaZikaron%20is%20the%20national,duty%20in%20Israel's%20armed%20forces.
...

LEBANESE AND ISRAELI MARONITES AGAINST HEZBOLLAH TERRORISTS

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                   

Haifa, Israel's Maronite Christian Church 
The Maronites are a Christian group^[ who adhere to the Syriac Maronite Church with the largest population around Mount Lebanon in Lebanon. The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with the Pope and the Catholic Church,  "Historically, Maronites have been rural people. They are thought to trace their roots back to the 4th Century. In the 7th Century, due to religious persecution, they withdrew from the coastal regions to the mountainous areas of Lebanon and Syria, where they lived in isolation."

Israel has about 7,000 Maronite Christians, a branch very much like Western Catholics.  "The archeparchy includes all the faithful of the Maronite Church who live in Israel. The archeparchial seat is the city of Haifa, where the Saint Louis the King Cathedral is located. The territory is divided into eight parishes.

In the archeparchy in 2013, there were approximately 7,000 members, 9 priests and 8 parishes."                                       

Christian leaders in Jerusalem, Israel
In 2011 there were 4,196,453 Lebanese with
60% being Muslims in Lebanon.  

"Members of the Christian community in Israel are bringing back an ancient language spoken by Jesus, and are finding fellow speakers in unexpected parts of the world."  Jish is the only village in Israel with a majority Maronite population. Muslims constitute about 35 percent of the residents, with a smattering of Melkite Christians making up the tiny remainder. They are guiding those in Sweden and Holland.  

"Phoenicianism is a form of Lebanese nationalism, first adopted by Lebanese Christians, primarily Maronites, at the time of the creation of Greater Lebanon. It constitutes identification of the Lebanese people with the ancient Phoenicians." They have the history of King Solomon of Israel being friends with the King of  Tyre, Hiram.  Tyre was a major city of the Phoenicians, living in today's Lebanon.  "It promotes the view that Lebanese people, or sometimes exclusively just Lebanese Christians, are not Arabs and that the Lebanese speak a distinct language and have their own culture, separate from that of the surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Supporters of this theory of Lebanese ethnogenesis maintain that the Lebanese are descended from Phoenicians and are not Arabs. Some also maintain that Levantine Arabic is not an Arabic variety, rather a variation of Neo-Aramaic, but has become a distinctly separate language."

                                                                                 

"Cardinal Bechara Rai, head of the Maronite Catholic Church, center, arrives to visit a church in Jaffa, a mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, May 26, 2014. (photo credit: AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)"

Recently in 2014, "Maronite Cardinal Bechara Ra’i, here with Pope Francis, defies threats from home and goes to Jaffa, plans to head to the north next."    He made a first visit of a Maronite Cardinal to Israel since 1948's birth of Israel.  Maronites seemed to have risen out of Antioch, Turkey's meetings of the Christian organizing going on in the 300s CE.  Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire, close to Jerusalem.  

.  "Cardinal Bechara Ra’i, a Maronite Catholic, made the trip despite opposition at home. His critics have said the pilgrimage implies normalization with Israel at a time when the two countries remain formally at war."  Lebanon, Israel's northern neighbor  along the coast, is made up of Maronite Christians who hold the position of being the group chosen for the position of president.  7,000 Maronite Christians are living in Israel out of a total of about 3,537,660 in the world.  Other Catholics also live in Lebanon, of which Major Hadad, a former friend of Israel who has passed away, was a member. 

Looking back, in the year of 1960, Lebanon had a population of 1.8 million people.   Today they have about 6.1 million.  Israel has 8,548,870 out of which 6 million are Jews.  "The IDF does not conscript Arab citizens of Israel who are Muslim or Christian, however, increasing numbers choose to volunteer for military service. Many Bedouins enlist on a voluntary basis. For Druze and Circassian men, enlistment is mandatory "through their own choice.  

                                             

Israel's IDF soldiers, a mixture of faiths and nations
Here you see Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths
To Israelis they are the beloved IDF, Israel Defense Force. 
Note:  It's a country on the defense, protecting their
population, and has had to do this since its inception in 1948. 
Jews, the world's scapegoats, have had a hard time getting
other religious people to accept them in a world
they had been driven out of by the Romans.  Now,
besides the obvious rockets, mortars and missiles,
BDS threatens them coming right from the Middle East
that like a virus, spreads its devilment all over the world
to use against Israel. 

Below you see a Maronite Festival celebration going on in
Miami, Florida, USA where they must be living.   

        Maronite Christians make up about 21% of the population of Lebanon.  

• 54% Islam (Shia and Sunni, 27% each)
• 40.5% Christian (21% Maronite, 8% Eastern Orthodox, 5% Melkite Catholic, 1% Protestant, 6% other Christian denominations non-native to Lebanon like Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Copt)
• 5.5% Druze (included within the Muslim group in the Lebanese Constitution.)

The Druze and Maronite Christians were at war with each other in 1860 with the Druze being the overlords of the Maronites.  

According to Wikipedia, "Other religions account for only an estimated 0.3% of the population- mainly foreign temporary workers, according to the CIA Factbook. There remains a very small Jewish population, traditionally centered in Beirut. It has been larger: most Jews left the country after the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) as thousands of Lebanese did at that time."

Lebanon used to be the playground, the Paris of the Middle East, where the Arabs would go for their Rest and Recreation moments.  Life has done a 180 degree turn-around today.  No more.  

                                                

Today they have all been taken over by Hezbollah terrorists from iran and look towards Israel as a place to destroy.  Hezbollah possess more than 150,000 rockets and missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, many of which are capable of striking any location in Israel right now.  They have dug tunnels under homes in Lebanon going into israel. for attack and kill purposes.    
                                                    

 IDF of Israel fights against Hezbollah

 President Trump is now talking about bringing on a peace between Lebanon and Israel.  BEIRUT — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday called on the Lebanese people to stand up to Hezbollah's "criminality, terror and threats," and claimed U.S. sanctions on Iran and its Lebanese Shiite ally were working and that more pressure on them was forthcoming.The Lebanese Foreign Minister stood next to him  insisted that Hezbollah is "a Lebanese group that is not a terrorist organization and was elected by the people."  My comment is that he is very weak.  The problem lies with the Golan Heights and Trump announcing Friday that he will recognize Israel's soverignty over it.  "The Golan Heights is a narrow strip of mountainous land, roughly 1,800sq km, bordering Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon."
                                                    

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the Golan Heights will always be part of Israel, and Syria, which does not recognize Israel.  Syria wants the territory back..  It would be Hezbollah speaking in place of Syria that want it back in order to attack Israel more easily.  

It is a strategically important territory for the two enemy countries with its elevated position – nearly 3,000m above sea level – allowing a viewpoint into southern Syria, northern Israel and southern Lebanon.                                                 

Hezbollah terrorists against Israeiis

When Syria had control of the Golan Heights, its military was able to use positions to shell Israeli communities below. That went on incessantly.  They want to destroy Israel.  They were part of the Kartoum Conference in Africa where the Muslims said NO 3 times to offers of peace.  Writers seem to leave out objectives of countries which is most important.  Israel does not use the height to destroy or be on the offensive against Syria but can use it for DEFENSE.  A country as small as Israel is needs all the defense it can get in boundaries from  today's weapons.  

But Israel’s possession of the land also gives its military a clear view into Syria, all the way to the capital Damascus some 60km away.

                                               

Christian female IDF soldier of Israel 

The CIA information :

LEBANON Total population: 6,100,075 (July 2018 est.)

• Lebanese nationals: 4,678,533 (July 2014 est.)

  Syrian refugees: 946,291 (March 2019 est.) registered at the UNHCR (down from 1,077,000 in June 2014)

  Palestinian refugees: 469,555 (2018 est.)

  Iraqi refugees: 5,695 (2017 est.)

                                                                 

Lookout at Golan Heights
To save lives of Israelis, it must stay in israel's hands.
Once a part of the 12 Tribes of Israel

UK just came out and banned Hezbollah. In banning the entire organization of Hezbollah, the UK joins Canada, the U.S., Israel, the Netherlands and the Arab League, which have all banned the terror organization.  

Lebanon:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_Mount_Lebanon_civil_war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Maronite_Christians
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bkerk%C3%A9
town of Kobayet in North Lebanon-Marc's origin 400 years ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maronite_Church
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maronite_Catholic_Archeparchy_of_Haifa_and_the_Holy_Land
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicianism
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/israel-population/
Jerusalem Post: by Judith Sudiovsky, August 30, 2012 Members of the Christian community in Israel are bringing back an ancient language spoken by Jesus, and are finding fellow speakers in unexpected parts of the world.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/why-trump-golan-heights-announcement-133626672.html
https://www.worldtribune.com/unreported-jihadists-slaughtered-120-christians-in-past-month/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6932786.stm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Israel
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13912/uk-bans-hezbollah