Quote:UK PM Sunak to visit Israel on Thursday

Sunak will also urge the opening up of a route to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza as soon as possible, and to enable British nationals trapped in Gaza to leave.

At least seven British nationals have been killed and at least nine are missing since the attack on Israel, Sunak's spokesperson said earlier on Wednesday.

Alongside Sunak's visit, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who visited Israel last week, will travel to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar over the next three days to discuss the conflict and seek a peaceful resolution, his office said.

Quote:Gaza Strip to shrink after war, says Israeli foreign minister

Israel’s foreign minister said that it will shrink the Gaza Strip, raising fears that parts of the territory will be annexed or reoccupied at the end of the war.

Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio on Wednesday, Eli Cohen vowed to eliminate Hamas from Gaza and then predicted a “decrease” in Gazan territory.

“At the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, but the territory of Gaza will also decrease,” he said.

It was unclear if Mr Cohen meant that a buffer zone would be formed from parts of Gaza, or that Israel intends to absorb parts of the land completely into its territory.

Quote:Who Owns the Gas Fields

The issue of sovereignty over Gaza’s gas fields is crucial. From a legal standpoint, the gas reserves belong to Palestine.

The death of Yasser Arafat, the election of the Hamas government and the ruin of the Palestinian Authority have enabled Israel to establish de facto control over Gaza’s offshore gas reserves.

British Gas (BG Group) has been dealing with the Tel Aviv government. In turn, the Hamas government has been bypassed in regards to exploration and development rights over the gas fields.

The election of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 was a major turning point. Palestine’s sovereignty over the offshore gas fields was challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court. Sharon stated unequivocally that “Israel would never buy gas from Palestine” intimating that Gaza’s offshore gas reserves belong to Israel.

In 2003, Ariel Sharon, vetoed an initial deal, which would allow British Gas to supply Israel with natural gas from Gaza’s offshore wells. (The Independent, August 19, 2003)

The election victory of Hamas in 2006 was conducive to the demise of the Palestinian Authority, which became confined to the West Bank, under the proxy regime of Mahmoud Abbas.

In 2006, British Gas “was close to signing a deal to pump the gas to Egypt.” (Times, May, 23, 2007). According to reports, British Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened on behalf of Israel with a view to shunting the agreement with Egypt.

The following year, in May 2007, the Israeli Cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert  “to buy gas from the Palestinian Authority.” The proposed contract was for $4 billion, with profits of the order of $2 billion of which one billion was to go the Palestinians.

Tel Aviv, however, had no intention on sharing the revenues with Palestine. An Israeli team of negotiators was set up by the Israeli Cabinet to thrash out a deal with the BG Group, bypassing both the Hamas government and the Palestinian Authority:

Quote:“Israeli defence authorities want the Palestinians to be paid in goods and services and insist that no money go to the Hamas-controlled Government.” (Ibid, emphasis added)

The objective was essentially to nullify the contract signed in 1999 between the BG Group and the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat.

Under the proposed 2007 agreement with BG, Palestinian gas from Gaza’s offshore wells was to be channeled by an undersea pipeline to the Israeli seaport of Ashkelon, thereby transferring control over the sale of the natural gas to Israel.

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza’s Offshore Gas Fields

(10-19-2023, 12:40 AM)xuenchen Wrote: The "Hospital" "attack" was planned and scripted by somebody.  It was too easy and all the mass protests were too fast and too organized.  I swear I saw an early report that said munitions were stored there, but heard nothing since. 

Anybody know if Biden is the first President to go to a friendly allied country and announce aide for that country's enemy with their Flag in the scene? 

Brilliance brighter than The Sun 

(10-19-2023, 06:47 PM)xuenchen Wrote:

---

Anybody know if Biden is the first President to go to a friendly allied country and announce aide for that country's enemy with their Flag in the scene? 

Brilliance brighter than The Sun 

Quote:This is the drug Hamas terrorists took to help them slaughter Israelis

Hamas terrorists who carried out a surprise attack on October 7 were found to be under the influence of Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant that has been clandestinely produced in southern Europe and trafficked through Turkey to the consumer markets on the Arabian Peninsula.

The pills were recovered from the pockets of many terrorists who lost their lives on Israeli soil.

This stimulant drug, also known as the "cocaine for the poor," allowed the terrorists to commit heinous acts with a sense of calmness and indifference. Simultaneously, it kept them highly alert for extended periods and suppressed their appetite.

Captagon gained notoriety in 2015 when it was discovered to be used by ISIS fighters to suppress fear prior to carrying out terrorist operations. As the influence of terrorist organizations like ISIS diminished, Lebanon and Syria took the reins and began producing and distributing the drug on a large scale.

Gaza, in particular, became a popular market for the drug, especially among addicted young individuals.

Reliable estimates suggest that Captagon's exports from Syria alone reached a minimum of $3.5 billion in 2020 – a figure five times greater than the combined value of Syria's legal export industries, estimated at just over $700 million.

Experts offering their assessments believe that these projections are speculative and that the actual market value is likely much higher. For example, in Saudi Arabia, it is estimated that consumption of Captagon surpasses 600 million pills annually, generating a market value of at least $9 billion to $12 billion dollars every year.

The drug's reach extends beyond Saudi Arabia, with significant seizures of Captagon reported in Italy, Greece, Malaysia, and Egypt. In Jordan, it is readily available at low prices, making it increasingly popular among underprivileged youth, including those of school age. Without a doubt, the prevalence of Captagon continues to rise each year.

The Jerusalem Post

(10-21-2023, 12:54 AM)727Sky Wrote: Turkey Naval maneuvers and US carrier task force. So far looks like American policy is caving in to Turkey..

(10-21-2023, 01:16 AM)Ninurta Wrote:

(10-21-2023, 12:54 AM)727Sky Wrote: Turkey Naval maneuvers and US carrier task force. So far looks like American policy is caving in to Turkey..

The U.S. should make a counter-statement to Turkey: "S'ok if Turkey doesn't want to take responsibility for their actions. We understand what it's like to be ball-less. So, in that vein, Turkey doesn't have to take any responsibility for 'accidents' - we will utterly and completely... but [i]accidentally[/i}... obliterate any ships firing upon U.S. vessels, no matter who they may be. That 'accidental' shit can go two ways, boys."

Then go to the NATO council and announce "Turkey has made a veiled threat on the U.S. Decide now which you want to retain in NATO. If you don't want us, we can be out of the agreement by tomorrow morning, and have our troops and weapons removed from your countries, and our bases leveled to the bare ground they started on, within one month. So what's it gonna be? Do you prefer us assisting in your defense, or would you rather have Turkey assisting you against their good buddies in the Kremlin? You only get one, so choose wisely. We've got a border that needs to be secured anyhow, so we could really use those troops and materiel back home instead of wasting it all on folks that don't even want us as an ally."

.

(10-21-2023, 12:54 AM)727Sky Wrote: Turkey Naval maneuvers and US carrier task force. So far looks like American policy is caving in to Turkey..

Quote:CNN — A US warship that intercepted drones and missiles near the coast of Yemen on Thursday encountered a larger and more sustained barrage than was previously known, shooting down 4 cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of 9 hours, according to a US official familiar with the situation.

The USS Carney, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer that traversed the Suez Canal heading south on Wednesday, intercepted the missiles and drones as they were heading north along the Red Sea. Their trajectory left little doubt that the projectiles were headed for Israel, the official said, a clearer assessment than the Pentagon’s initial take.

Some of the projectiles were traveling at altitudes that made them a potential risk to commercial aviation when they were intercepted, the US official said. The drones and missiles were intercepted with SM-2 surface-to-air missiles launched from the USS Carney.

Quote:Official IDF Daily Update

Daily Recap: Hamas - Israel War, October 21st, 2023 (20:00) - Day 15

Field Notes from Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, IDF Spokesperson to International Media

Two weeks have passed since Saturday, October 7th, and the world is beginning to forget.

Everyone in Israel has had a loved one killed or injured. We all have funerals to go to, friends to bury, families to comfort.

Within that chaos, we must also endure global hate and ignorance from people who refuse to comprehend that this isn’t a war between Israel and Gaza, but rather a war between Israel and Hamas.

Strangers around the world hurry to dust off their signs and flags when we target and neutralize known terrorists who are willing to kill and kidnap children, but sit silently when a terrorist rocket explodes in a Gazan hospital or when Hamas threatens the lives of Gazans attempting to evacuate south for their safety.

It is truly baffling how people condemn the IDF for striking terrorist targets before they condemn Hamas for building terrorist infrastructure in civilian areas.

It is truly baffling how people condemn Israel for halting the electricity we were voluntarily supplying to Gaza before they condemn Gaza’s elected governing body, Hamas, for not supplying its civilians with electricity in the first place.

It is truly baffling how people will condemn Israel before they will condemn an internationally recognized terrorist organization.

We are slipping into a time in which the facts of a matter are unimportant unless they are as shocking or interesting as the lies spread regarding it.

The people of Israel are here, standing strong, fighting for their home.

Waiting for the world to see our reality.

(10-21-2023, 12:54 AM)727Sky Wrote: Turkey Naval maneuvers and US carrier task force. So far looks like American policy is caving in to Turkey..

(10-21-2023, 10:13 PM)gortex Wrote: Human Rights investigators analysing the available data from the Hospital strike say indications from doppler sound tracking analysis from the video of the strike indicated the missile came from the East and not West as claimed by the IDF , imagery of the crater seems to back that analysis up , analysis of the audio of the alleged conversation between the two militants released by the IDF as part of their "evidence" is of two different conversations edited together using an audio workstation.