What Was Kerry Thinking?

Livni: Kerry's cease-fire proposal 'completely unacceptable'
-Gil Hoffman

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday that his proposal for a week long cease-fire of Israel's Gaza campaign was "completely unacceptable" and that it "would have strengthened extremists in the region."

At a press conference [Kerry] said that Palestinians “need to live with dignity” and “with goods that can come in and out....”

The tunnels, Kerry said, “have to be dealt with. We understand that; we’re working at that. By the same token, the Palestinians can’t have a cease-fire in which they think the status quo is going to stay and they’re not going to have the ability to be able to begin to live and breathe more freely and move within the crossings and begin to have goods and services that come in from outside.”
[Jerusalem Post]


Kerry Gives New Life to Muslim Brotherhood Alliance - Ari Shavit

Very senior officials in Jerusalem described the proposal that Secretary of State John Kerry put on the table as a "strategic terrorist attack." His decision to go hand in hand with Qatar and Turkey, and formulate a framework amazingly similar to the Hamas framework, was catastrophic.

It put wind in the sails of Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshal, allowed the Hamas extremists to overcome the Hamas moderates, and gave renewed life to the weakened regional alliance of the Muslim Brotherhood.
(Ha'aretz)


He Came, He Saw, He Muddled - Herb Keinon
 
It takes a certain artistry to irritate and annoy not only the Israeli left and the Israeli right at the same time, but also both Jerusalem and Ramallah. Secretary of State John Kerry has found that artistry.
    
Kerry presented a proposal to Israel that included many of Hamas' demands but none of Israel's. This provided Hamas with a badly needed tailwind. Sure, they were getting clobbered, but they were getting what they wanted. The world was talking to them, recognizing their standing in Gaza, presenting their demands.
(Jerusalem Post)


Now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that Israel needs to take advantage of the current opportunity to disarm Hamas, rather than acceding to UN requests for a cease-fire.

On the minister's Facebook page Sunday morning, Bennett likened the latest UN cease-fire request to a boxing match where the opponent is knocked to the ground. "A cease-fire would be like lending a hand to the opponent to help him get up, and then giving him something to drink so he can compose himself," he wrote.
 
Bennett wrote that Hamas is desperate for a cease-fire so its forces can regain their strength and reorganize in order to continue to attack Israeli forces. "Especially at this moment, it's impossible to take the foot off the pedal. Now is the time to be determined," he continued.
[Jerusalem Post]


Kerry's Plan: What Was He Thinking? - Barak Ravid

The draft cease-fire plan that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry passed to Israel on Friday shocked the cabinet ministers not only because it was the opposite of what Kerry told them less than 24 hours earlier, but mostly because it might as well have been penned by Khaled Mashaal. It was everything Hamas could have hoped for. The Israeli security cabinet unanimously rejected Kerry's plan.
(Ha'aretz)


U.S. Plan Would Let Hamas Keep Its Rockets - Barak Ravid

The cease-fire draft U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presented to Israel on Friday contained practically no mention of Israel's security needs or of demilitarizing Gaza of rockets. The draft also forbade Israel from demolishing terror tunnels running from Gaza into Israeli territory.
(Ha'aretz)


Israel: Kerry "Completely Capitulated" to Hamas

Israeli government sources on Saturday night accused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of "completely capitulating" to the demands of Hamas and its champion Qatar in drafting the Gaza war cease-fire proposal that Israeli ministers unanimously rejected on Friday. Israeli sources, quoted by Israel's Channel 2 TV, said Kerry "dug a tunnel under the Egyptian cease-fire proposal" - which Israel accepted and Hamas rejected last week - and presented the Israeli government with a text that accepted "most of the demands" raised by Hamas.
   
The Kerry proposal accepted Hamas demands for the opening of border crossings into Gaza - where Israel and Egypt fear the import of weaponry.
(Times of Israel)


Kerry Disappoints PA with Cease-Fire Proposal

The Palestinian Authority expressed deep disappointment over Secretary Kerry's Paris cease-fire proposal, which was drafted with no consultation with Egypt or the PA.  
(Asharq Al-Awsat-Arabic)

Hamas Planned To Attack Israel on Rosh Hashanah - Ariel Kahana    

Israeli security sources unearthed evidence that Hamas was preparing to dispatch 200 terrorists in one action via tens of tunnels towards six Israeli communities in the western Negev, with a goal of killing and kidnapping tens of Israelis on the Jewish New Year (Sept. 24).
(NRG-Hebrew)


Hamas Killed 160 Palestinian Children to Build Terror Tunnels
- Myer Freimann
   
Hamas uses child laborers to build their terror tunnels. The Institute for Palestine Studies published a detailed report on Gaza's tunnel phenomenon in the summer of 2012, noting: "At least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels, according to Hamas officials."
(Tablet)


Elite IDF Unit Operates Behind Enemy Lines - Yaakov Lappin

Operating behind enemy lines in Gaza, the IDF's elite Maglan unit has attacked dozens of terrorist cells in the last few days, targeting Hamas gunmen waiting in ambush for the IDF's ground forces.

A senior source from the unit revealed that in recent days a recognizable wave of demoralization has washed over Hamas combat battalions. "They simply escape, leaving behind weapons and suicide bomb vests that were laid out for battle. This morning we stormed a position, and they just weren't there. I don't see a determined enemy."
(Jerusalem Post)


Both Egypt and Israel Want to Subdue Hamas
- Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah

A defeat of Hamas is probably what President Sisi wishes for the most.

A victorious or even partially weakened Hamas would have dire implications for the stability of the Egyptian regime, since it would be a model for all those who wish to see an end to the Sisi presidency in Egypt. It is in the national interest of both Egypt and Israel to subdue Hamas and strive for conditions for a permanent cease-fire.
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
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Inside Gaza with the Givati Brigade - Lilach Shoval

Brigade Commander Col. Ofer Vinter said, "The IDF is winning by doing what it knows how to do....I say to the Israeli public: Don't be afraid for us. The IDF is strong. Sometimes things aren't easy, but the fighting isn't so hard here. They fight and run." 
(Israel Hayom)
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