The Hour of Decision

18 Kislev 5784 
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Vayishlach

FULL WAR ON CHAI KISLEV!!

Decision-making time:  Obey man or obey God.

With one week until Hanukkah, the war is back on, but not before a nice pep-talk by the Judenrat Secretary of State Antony Blinken...

...Blinken told the Israelis that they must not operate in the south as they did in the north, and indicated that the U.S. would only support a campaign of several weeks, rather than months, for the IDF to destroy Hamas.

“You can’t operate in southern Gaza in the way you did in the north. There are two million Palestinians there,” Blinken said in leaked remarks to the Israelis. “You need to evacuate fewer people from their homes, be more accurate in the attacks, not hit UN facilities, and ensure that there are enough protected areas [for civilians]. And if not? Then not to attack where there is a civilian population. What is your system of operation?”

Halevi responded, saying, “We follow a number of principles — proportionality, distinction, and the laws of war. There were instances where we attacked on the basis of those principles, and instances where we decided not to attack, because we waited for a better opportunity.”

Gallant added: “The entire Israeli society is united behind the goal of dismantling Hamas, even if it takes months.”

“I don’t think you have the credit for that,” Blinken reportedly shot back.

Addressing a post-Hamas Gaza Strip, Blinken said, “You don’t want the Palestinian Authority on the day after. We understand that. The best way to kill an idea is to bring a better idea. The other states in the region need to know what you are planning.”

Bibi responded to that, saying, “As long as I’m sitting in this chair, the Palestinian Authority, which supports, educates and finances terror, will not rule Gaza on the day after Hamas

...“I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian, civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians,” Blinken said. “That means taking more effective steps to protect the lives of civilians, including by clearly and precisely designating areas and places in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire.”

Additionally, Israel must work to “avoid damage to life-critical infrastructure like hospitals, like power stations, like water facilities. And it means giving civilians who’ve been displaced to southern Gaza the choice to return to the north as soon as conditions permit. There must be no enduring internal displacement.”

“Hamas intentionally embeds within civilians — within and below, schools, apartment buildings, refugee camps,” Blinken said, but insisted that the IDF “is capable of neutralizing the threat posed by Hamas, while minimizing harm to innocent men, women and children. And it has an obligation to do so.”  (Source)

~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~