A Few Thoughts on the Situation in Israel

A Few Thoughts on the Situation in Israel

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See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

They’re even smarter than we thought. This time the Iranian in more elegant robes is rebuking the one who appeared in the U.N. General Assembly. He told him that his attitude during his visit to New York was too placating. Good cop, bad cop. And it’s working, too. The world is falling for this idiotic bluff. It’s a game for beginner con-men, but the world can’t get enough. Meanwhile, the centrifuges enrich more and more Uranium – very soon they’ll have enough for at least one atomic device. There’s another important point to consider: The meaningless debate on exactly how long it will take for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but it doesn’t matter. What does matter is to take action to stop the Iranian nuclear project.

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The documentaries that aired during the last few weeks on the severe failures of the Yom Kippur War clearly show what happens when there’s a “concept”. Does our modern defense establishment still blindly follow these types of ideas? I hope not, but everything must be done to keep it that way. It’s very hard to believe, the way the great IDF was caught with its pants down when all signs clearly pointed towards war. A lot has been said about that specific failure, but there might still be another. Will former generals blame each other for a similar fiasco 20-40 years from now? Again, I hope not, but our leaders have to do everything to keep it from happening again. Only an open mind, and correct intelligence analysis, even if it doesn’t fit a “concept”, will prevent the next disaster.

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Terror in the West Bank, again, but they’ll do anything to maintain the illusion called “the peace talks with the Palestinians.” The talks aren’t “frozen” they haven’t started yet because they can’t actually begin. Two mountains will have an easier time coming closer together than these talks do of progressing. But Tsippi Livni will have meetings, the media will report “progress” – but it’s all nonsense. There won’t be a peace agreement with the Palestinians, not in a thousand years. Only fools blindly believe any illusion that they’re shown, and we’re not fools. Meanwhile, they let terror rear its ugly head. Shootings, Molotov cocktail ambushes, but the hands of the IDF are tied because they “don’t want to interfere with the talks.” How dense can our politicians get? Or, more correctly, how dense to they think we are?

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In an almost weekly ritual, Turkey keeps spitting in the face of the U.S. The important NATO member grows closer to anyone and anything that angers Washington. Now Turkey is going to purchase Chinese made missile defense systems, and Washington’s response – nothing. Turkey can see how weak the Americans are, and it fits their plan – to become a regional Muslim superpower, at the very least.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

What does this all mean for us? The meaning is very clear, and it’s bad. It goes hand in hand with the developments concerning the Syrian chemical weapons and the Iranian nuclear program. It shows that those who stand strong win. Erdogan perhaps copied Putin at first, but now he’s doing great by all by himself.

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“If we find ourselves alone, we’ll act alone” – those were Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s words last weekend, and he repeated them several times during his visit to the United States. Netanyahu knows that Israel alone can’t solve the Iranian problem simply by using military force. The IDF, despite its strength, lacks the capability to do so. Even if the temptation proves to be too much and Israel acts against Iran, it won’t be enough. The act won’t stop the development of the Iranian nuclear weapons, and will result in many Israeli casualties. It looks like logic and politics don’t have anything to do with each other.

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I’ve heard a lot of arguments against the train to Eilat. Former Mossad head Efraim Halevi, however, recommended not hiring a Chinese company to work on the project, due to its close ties with Iran. His statements are… strange, and that’s putting it mildly. If the Chinese get the contract the Eilat line will be in operation within two or three years, otherwise it will take forever. The Chinese have a lot of experience with large-scale projects. How are their capabilities connected to the ties between Beijing and Tehran-Damascus? I don’t see it. The Chinese built the Carmel tunnels, the Chinese should have built the new Eilat airport next to Timna, and the Chinese should be the ones to lay the tracks to Eilat if the plan is approved. Anything having to do with China’s stance on the conflicts in our region is irrelevant, and only serves to delay this important project ever further.

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Palestinian keep entering Israel without permits. The security fences mean nothing to them, and the IDF’s presence is barely even felt. The next murder will happen, and soon, the only way to fight this phenomena is to hurt the employers, financially. But even here there’s no enforcement. In Israel nothing is done seriously, everything feels improvised. Those who let Palestinians enter Israel freely, those who prevent the IDF in the West Bank from defending its soldiers against stabbing attacks and Molotov cocktails, those people are the ones will be held responsible for the next murder. But as always, Israelis would rather maintain the illusion of the “peace talks” with the Palestinians, which will remain unresolved even if the talks go on forever.