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Trump’s 20-Point Gamble: A bold bid to end the Gaza War – or a recipe for stalemate?

30 September 2025 Roswell AIM Extra, https://theaimn.net/trumps-20-point-gamble-a-bold-bid-to-end-the-gaza-war-or-a-recipe-for-stalemate/

In the sweltering corridors of power at the White House, where deals are struck and destinies rewritten over Diet Cokes and classified briefings, President Trump has once again thrust himself into the heart of the Middle East maelstrom. On September 29, 2025, flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump unveiled a sweeping 20-point plan aimed at halting Israel’s relentless war on Gaza – a conflict that has claimed over 66,000 Palestinian lives and left the enclave in rubble since October 2023.

With characteristic bombast, Trump declared the proposal “tremendous,” a “game-changer” that could usher in “greatness in the Middle East,” while Netanyahu nodded in apparent agreement, vowing Israel’s full backing if Hamas balks.

Here is the full text of the peace proposal:

  • Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours.
  • Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
  • If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
  • Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
  • Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
  • Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
  • Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
  • Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025, agreement.
  • Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.

  • A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
  • A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
  • No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.
  • Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.
  • A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbors or its people.
  • The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.
  • Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the [Israeli military] will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the [Israeli military], ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the [Israeli military] will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
  • In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the [Israeli military] to the ISF.
  • An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
  • While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
  • The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.

Yet, as the ink dries on this audacious blueprint – floated last week to leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and beyond at the UN General Assembly – the devil lurks in the details, and Hamas has yet to even receive a written copy. The plan nods to Palestinian aspirations for statehood, a pathway Netanyahu has long scorned, while offering amnesty to Hamas fighters who swear off violence and exile for the rest – echoing Trump’s first-term Abraham Accords but with a sharper edge of coercion.

Trump’s optimism is infectious: “Everyone else has accepted it,” he boasted, hinting at full U.S. support for Israel to “do what you have to do” if talks falter. But with Gaza City under fresh bombardment and over 700,000 displaced in recent escalations, the question hangs heavy: Is this a genuine olive branch, or another high-stakes poker game where the Palestinians hold the weakest hand? As the world watches, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

October 2, 2025 Posted by | Gaza, Israel, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Palestinian Subordination: Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan

2 October 2025 Dr Binoy Kampmark, https://theaimn.net/palestinian-subordination-donald-trumps-gaza-peace-plan/

He had moments of discomfort and embarrassment – pressed into calling the Qatari Prime Minister by his host to apologise for striking Doha and made to pay lip service to the prospect of a Palestinian state – but Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu had many reasons to be pleased. On September 29, President Donald Trump advanced a peace proposal that essentially preservesIsraeli pre-eminence regarding the fate of Palestinians, though it entails a cessation of hostilities, an affirmation that Gazans would not be expelled (those leaving would have the right to return), and an injunction against Israeli annexation of the Strip. But Hamas, militarily and politically, would have to surrender all claims, with the Palestinian Authority shepherded and supervised by foreign powers.

Trump’s peace proposal comprises twenty points. They include a “deradicalized terror-free zone,” Gaza’s redevelopment for the benefit of its people aided by “a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving miracle cities in the Middle East,” and an immediate end to the war on its acceptance by the parties. Israel would withdraw to an agreed upon line in anticipation of a hostage release, during which all military operations would cease pending complete withdrawal. All hostages, dead and alive, would be returned within 72 hours, to be followed by the release of 250 Palestinian life sentence prisoners and Gazans detained since October 7, 2023.  

Hamas and militant factions will forfeit any role in governing Gaza, with any offensive infrastructure and equipment destroyed, but any of its members wishing to commit to “peaceful co-existence” and decommissioning of weapons will be granted amnesty, with those wishing to leave given safe passage to receiving countries. Compliance by the militant group will be overseen by “regional partners.” Full aid would resume, with the UN and Red Crescent restored to their role as chief distributors.

On the issue of governance, a temporary technocratic “apolitical Palestinian committee” of qualified Palestinians and “international experts” would form a temporary transitional body, subject to a “Board of Peace” personally chaired by Trump. Most unfortunately, it is likely to include such figures as Sir Tony Blair, the Middle East’s typhoid Mary when it comes to peace. The transitional authority would hold the reins till reforms by the Palestinian Authority had been completed. With immediacy, however, the US would work with Arab and international partners to deploy an “International Stabilisation Force” to Gaza. The ISF will be responsible for training Palestinian police forces and provide support in terms of vetting recruits, with assistance from Jordan and Egypt.

The proposal clearly envisages a significant role for the ISF, though says about who will comprise it. Israel will not, under the plan, occupy or annex Gaza, surrendering what territory it has taken to the ISF. Even if Hamas were to delay or reject the proposal, the Israeli Defense Forces would still hand over occupied territory of “terror-free areas” to the stabilisation force but retain a security perimeter to stem “any resurgent terror threat.”

The plan also envisages the establishment of an interfaith dialogue to promote the values of peace between the parties, and a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” if the programs for Gaza’s redevelopment and PA reform take place as planned. A vague US promise to “establish a dialogue” between Israel and the Palestinians regarding peaceful and prosperous co-existence rounds off the points.

There was palpable grumbling from the Israeli camp. Netanyahu undoubtedly harbours ambitions of finishing “the job”, and there is little to say the war will not resume once the Israeli hostages are returned. Having previously rejected any governing role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, he now reluctantly accepts the idea subject to a “radical and genuine overhaul” of the body.  

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the right-wing heavies in the Israeli cabinet, is threatening to withdraw his Religious Zionist Party from the coalition. Agreeing with the plan had been “an act of wilful blindness that ignores every lesson of October 7.” It would only “end in tears.” Fellow zealot, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is also likely to be seething.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid is also suspicious of Netanyahu, who tends to say “yes” when visiting Washington, “standing in front of the cameras at the White house, feeling like a breakthrough statesman.” On returning to Israel, however, he always seemed to add a qualifying “but”, his political base always reminding him “who the boss is.”

In keeping with history, the Trump plan, even if it were to be implemented to the letter, enshrines the essential subordination of Palestinian goals to the dictates of other powers. Palestinian military presence is not only to be curtailed but essentially eliminated altogether. Hamas, never consulted regarding the peace terms, is to accept its own effacing. The PA is to accept its own subservience and infantilisation. The Gazans are also to accept an economic and development program dictated and directed from without. Statehood is to be kept in cold storage till appropriate, controlled conditions for its release are approved – and certainly not by the Palestinians themselves. They, it would seem, remain the considered errant children of international relations, mistrusted and requiring permanent, stern invigilation.

October 2, 2025 Posted by | Gaza, Israel, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Expect A Huge Fuss About The October 7 Anniversary As The World Turns Against Israel

Caitlin Johnstone, Sep 30, 2025

Israel apologists are probably going to make a much, much bigger deal about the second October 7 anniversary than they did about the first anniversary, because they kind of have to. The world is turning against Israel in unprecedented ways in 2025, and yelling about October 7 is all they’ve got left.

They’ve already got a scripted October 7 series coming out on Paramount+, and another, separate scripted October 7 series coming out on HBO Max for the anniversary. There are probably numerous news media segments and articles scheduled. Maybe some new “revelations” about alleged October 7 atrocities which have been just waiting in the wings this whole time for some reason.

The hasbarists are going to be so obnoxious. They’ll be babbling about Hamas beheading babies and then cooking the beheaded babies in the oven and then having sex with the beheaded babies and then eating the beheaded babies and then playing soccer with the baby heads while singing about how much they love Adolf Hitler.

They’ll need to do this, because what else do they have? All the attention has long ago moved from October 7 to the genocide in Gaza, because Israel is the victimizer in literally every news story that’s come out about Palestine since that one day. Every relevant humanitarian institution on earth is saying that Israel is committing genocide and starving civilians, and we’ve been watching the evidence of this on our screens for two years.

In 2023 you had westerners saying “How could Hamas do such a thing??”, but in 2025 everyone’s looking back and going “Ehh, I kinda get it.” There are only so many horrific atrocities you can witness before you stop seeing Israel as the poor widdle Bambi-eyed victim. There are only so many times you can hear Israeli officials stating their plans to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of all Palestinians, only so many Israeli soldiers you can see mockingly dressed in the undergarments of the dead and displaced Palestinian women they’ve been genociding, only so many hospital bombings you can read about, only so many accounts of IDF troops massacring starving civilians at aid sites you can listen to, before you start thinking to yourself that Israel probably had it coming.

So they’ve got to try and reignite that initial shock and horror Israel’s western allies experienced on October 7, using whatever tools of emotional manipulation they can. Try to take us all by the hand and lead us back to that naive time when the mainstream narrative was that Israel had just been attacked by a bunch of hateful savages who wanted to murder Jews simply because they are Jewish.

It won’t work, though. We’ve seen too much. What has been seen cannot be unseen. No matter how much they moan about October 7, no matter how much control they shore up over TikTok and other social media platforms to silence criticism of Israel, no matter how loudly they concern troll about a pretend epidemic of antisemitism, what has been seen will never be unseen.

We see what Israel is. We see what Israel is doing. We see what the western governments who support Israel are. There is nothing anyone can say or do that will cause us to unsee what we have seen and un-know what we now know.

And we will never, ever forgive them.

October 2, 2025 Posted by | Israel, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Israel Launches Major Airstrikes on Yemeni Capital, Killing at Least Nine.

The attack came after a Yemeni drone hit the Israeli city of Eilat

bDave DeCamp | September 25, 2025, https://news.antiwar.com/2025/09/25/israel-launches-major-airstrikes-on-yemeni-capital-killing-at-least-two-and-wounding-dozens/

The Israeli military launched major airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday, an assault that came after a Yemeni drone struck the Israeli city of Eilat, as the Houthis have vowed their attacks on Israel won’t stop until there’s an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Yemeni Health Ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said the Israeli attacks targeted “civilian, service, and residential facilities, causing damage to a number of homes.” He said that at least nine people were killed and 174 were wounded, but it’s a preliminary death toll that’s expected to rise. Among those killed were four children and two women.

Footage and photos from Yemen’s Al Masirah TV show significant damage to a residential area of Sanaa and Yemenis, including children, being treated at a hospital.

September 30, 2025 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Netanyahu’s General Assembly Tirade Telegraphs A Resumption of Israel’s War On Iran.

Dimitri Lascaris, Sep 28, 2025, https://reason2resist.substack.com/p/netanyahus-general-assembly-tirade?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2811845&post_id=174714909&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

On September 26, indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a bombastic speech in the UN General Assembly in which he set Israel’s sights squarely upon the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Netanyahu also castigated many of Israel’s few remaining allies for taking the purely cosmetic step of recognizing a Palestinian state.

Shortly before Netanyahu’s speech at the UN, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of senior U.S. military officers from around the world to a highly unusual, emergency meeting in Virginia. The Trump regime is being tight-lipped about the purposes of this meeting.

n this episode of Reason2Resist, I examine these recent developments and argue that we may be mere days away from a resumption of Israel’s criminal war of aggression on Iran.

I also discuss a new poll by Quinnipiac University which confirms that support for Israel continues to plummet in the United States.

September 30, 2025 Posted by | Israel, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Steve Witkoff’s Latest ‘Peace Plan’ Is A Scam

Only weeks after Israel attempted to murder the negotiating team of the Palestinian resistance in Qatar, Israeli media report that Donald Trump’s ‘peace envoy’, Steve Witkoff, has developed a 21-point peace plan.

Moreover, both Trump and U.S. Vice-President Donald Trump claim that the U.S. government is on the precipice of ending Israel’s war on Gaza.

Is any of this credible?

Dimitri Lascaris examines closely the reported substance of Witkoff’s proposal, as well as the record of the Trump and Netanyahu regimes, with a view to assessing whether Witkoff’s proposal stands a serious chance of ending Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

September 30, 2025 Posted by | Israel, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Netanyahu Tells UN Israel Will ‘Finish the Job’ in Gaza

The Israeli leader gave his speech to a mostly empty room after a mass walkout

by Kyle Anzalone | September 26, 2025, https://news.antiwar.com/2025/09/26/netanyahu-tells-un-israel-will-finish-the-job-in-gaza/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a mostly empty room at the UN as delegates engaged in a mass walkout before the Israeli leader began speaking. Netanyahu claimed Israel had eliminated leadership in Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. He went on to say Israel would “finish the job” in Gaza. 

“The final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City. They vow to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7,” Netanyahu said on Friday. “That is why Israel must finish the job. That is why we want to do so.”

He demanded the release of the remaining 48 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The family members of the captives released a statement following Netanyahu’s speech, saying his calls to finish the job endangered their loved ones. 

“Netanyahu’s call to ‘finish the job’ and continue fighting endangers the very people we’re fighting to save,” their statement explains. “Every day of continued war puts the living hostages at greater risk.”

The father of one hostage attempted to disrupt Netanyahu’s speech. 

Tel Aviv has undermined the diplomatic process to free the Israeli captives and end the onslaught in Gaza. In March, Israel broke a deal that would have led to the release of all hostages. 

Earlier this month, Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas leadership as they were meeting to discuss a proposal made by Donald Trump that would have seen the release of all the Israeli hostages before a ceasefire was implemented. 

The Israeli leader asserted in 2024 that Israel was close to “finishing the job” by eliminating the remnants of Hamas in Gaza. While the IDF completely destroyed Rafah last year, Hamas continues to have tens of thousands of fighters in Gaza and holds Israeli hostages. 

“We are advancing to the end of the stage of eliminating the Hamas terrorist army; we will continue striking its remnants,” Netanyahu said last July. 

Several top Israeli officials have said the goal in Gaza goes beyond returning the hostages, and the actual objective is to ethnically cleanse Palestine from the Strip. 

Additionally, the Israeli leader’s remarks put him at odds with the American President. Trump told reporters on Friday before Netanyahu’s address that a deal to end the war was “close.”

Trump and Netanyahu also appear divided on the future of the West Bank. The President held a meeting with Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN summit and said that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. 

Netanyahu asserted that Israel would never allow the creation of a Palestinian state, calling the idea “sheer madness.” He added, It would be like “giving Al-Qaida a state one mile from New York City after September 11.”

Tel Aviv’s refusal to allow the two-state solution to materialize has put the US out of line with its European and Arab allies, who voted to recognize the state of Palestine earlier this week. 

During his address, Netanyahu claimed Israel has waged multiple successful wars across the Middle East over the past two years. He asserted that half of Ansar Allah’s leadership in Yemen had been killed. While Israeli forces assassinated the Prime Minister of Yemen, Ansar Allah continues its blockade of Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, and a drone launched from Yemen injured 22 people at a hotel in southern Israel on Wednesday. 

He went on to say Israel had eliminated the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu then threatened to attack Shia militias in Iraq and restart Israel’s aggressive war against Iran. 

While most UN delegates left the General Assembly hall as Netanyahu began to speak, the Israeli leader said the IDF was broadcasting his speech to Gaza via loudspeakers and by livestreaming it through Palestinians’ phones. 

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Anitwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.

September 29, 2025 Posted by | Israel, politics international | Leave a comment

The Shift: 50 States, One Israel

Amid the ongoing genocide, the largest-ever delegation of U.S. lawmakers attended the “50 States, One Israel” conference in Jerusalem last week. It’s clear from the event, and the local reactions it sparked, that Israel’s isolation is only worsening.

It seems clear that this event was organized out of a growing sense of desperation, not a position of strength.

By Michael Arria  September 25, 2025 https://mondoweiss.net/2025/09/the-shift-50-states-one-israel/

Multiple installments of this newsletter have covered congressional delegations to Israel, but the “special relationship” goes far beyond Washington and permeates politics at the most local of levels.

Last week, lawmakers from across the U.S. flew to Jerusalem to attend “50 States One Israel,” which was billed as the largest delegation of politicians to ever visit the country.

“I thank you for coming here to stand with Israel. Thank you, Democrats and Republicans alike,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the attendees. “We value and cherish your support. This is an active effort to counter attempts to besiege Israel – not isolated, not symbolic, but a real effort to push back.”

“It may sound a little bit this afternoon as if I’m almost speaking on behalf of Israel rather than the U.S.,” Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the group.

“If you came to my house tonight for dinner and you came in and you said, ‘Oh, Mike, we like you,” he continued. “We really think the world of you. We just enjoy being with you. So excited to be here with you and have dinner with you. ‘But your wife, we can’t stand her. We don’t like her a bit. I hope she’s not going to be at the table.’ I would say, ‘Well, she will be. You won’t be. Get out.’ Because if you were to insult my partner, you have insulted me.”

Normal stuff.

There wasn’t much coverage of the event in the mainstream media, but you can find a lot of interesting coverage in local outlets, and see how the battle over Israel is taking shape in multiple states.

Let’s start with the Idaho Capital Sun, where Clark Corbin covered the state’s participants. Idaho sent five lawmakers to Israel, four of whom were Republicans. The only Democrat to attend was House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise).

A group of state Democrats is circulating a letter condemning Rubel for attending and calling for her to step down from her leadership position. The Idaho Young Democrats published a statement criticizing the move as well.

Shiva Rajbhandari, an Idaho human rights advocate, wrote an Op-Ed for the Idaho Statesmanarguing that Rubel and her Republican colleagues “lack the moral courage for public service of any kind.”

Rubel published her own Op-Ed, in which she wonders why we can’t all just get along.

“If you want someone that will indignantly shun the other side, I’m not your person,” writes Rubel. “I prefer useful results.”

It’s unclear what results Rubel’s referring to, but she goes on to dismiss the anti-genocide position as an example of “ideological purity,” giving people “false comfort.”

Next, the Alaska News Source. Wil Courtney reports on four Alaskan lawmakers making the trip.

Courtney says his paper “sent all members of the delegation questions..including questions over the war in Gaza, which were not answered.”

He notes that the World Health Organization estimates over 640,000 people will face “catastrophic levels of food insecurity” in the Gaza Strip.

Alaska’s News Source also reached out to the governor’s office, but did not receive a response.

On Instagram, the daughter of New Mexico State Senator Jay Block (R) posted a video criticizing her dad and other “loser politicians” for attending the conference.

“It seems like he sold his soul to the devil and is now just peddling lies and propaganda,” she declared. “I just genuinely hope this will be the end of my dad’s political career.”

“50 States, One Israel” occurred amid growing international solidarity against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israel’s further isolation on the world stage. Lately, Netanyahu has expressed anxiety about the country’s actions impacting its economy.

recent piece by Mitchell Plitnick, explains why BDS is so crucial at this juncture. “An isolated Israel is a failed Israel, and Netanyahu knows it. So do his business cronies,” he wrote.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called on the conference attendees to combat the BDS movement within their communities.

“Instead of boycotting Israel, promote engagement with Israel,” he told the lawmakers. “Instead of divesting from Israel, promote investments in Israel. And instead of sanctioning the only Jewish state, speak out clearly against those who recycle age-old hatred in modern form.”

It seems clear that this event was organized out of a growing sense of desperation, not a position of strength.

Block the Bombs

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has voted to endorse the Block the Bombs Act.

The news was first reported by Prem Thakker at Zeteo.

“The Block the Bombs bill is the first step toward oversight and accountability for the murder of children with US-made, taxpayer-funded weapons,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who leads the bill. “In the face of authoritarian leaders perpetrating a genocidal campaign, Block the Bombs is the minimum action Congress must take.”

The legislation currently has 50 House co-sponsors.

It focuses on bunker buster bombs, 2,000-pound bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), 120mm tank rounds, and 155mm artillery shells.

Many find it difficult to take the merits of this bill seriously.

It does nothing to deter “defensive weapons” like Iron Dome. In fact, it allows Israel to keep receiving all weapons by simply providing “written assurances satisfactory to the President.”

On top of all that, it obviously has no chance of passing.

However, the Progressive Caucus is one of the largest in Congress, and it has traditionally avoided the issue altogether. This is the first time it has endorsed legislation directly related to Palestine.

The fact that it’s backing an effort that’s opposed by groups like AIPAC is certainly notable, as it points to the decline of Israel’s brand among Democratic voters.

In a recent Common Dreams Op-Ed, Peace Action president Kevin Martin puts this bill, and recent related efforts, in a wider context:

The bill is as close as we have to a de facto arms embargo on Israel, as it would ban transfers of seven specific offensive weapons systems, from bunker busting bombs to tank ammunition to white phosphorus artillery munitions. While House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican majority will probably not allow the bill to advance, even to consideration by a House committee, building support to Ban the Bombs to Israel can help put pressure on President Trump (who recently blurted out that Israel had lost its “total control” of Congress) to exert leverage on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to end his inhumane slaughter in Gaza.

In addition to further votes on Joint Resolutions of Disapproval on specific weapons transfers to Israel, the Senate could also move privileged measures including a War Powers Resolution to prevent further support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, or an inquiry under section 502(B) of the Foreign Assistance Act for Israel’s clear violations of U.S. law. Or, the Senate could attach language such as that in the House Block the Bombs bill as an amendment to an Appropriations Bill.

None of those actions would be an easy lift, and would not be likely to pass (or override an expected presidential veto) but the reality now is the political tide has turned decisively against Israel.

Perhaps the simplest way to look at this is that advocates for peace and human rights have done their job, and the public has responded, as only 8% of Democrats approve of Israel’s actions in Gaza, with the overall number at only 32%, according to a recent Gallup poll.

September 28, 2025 Posted by | Israel, media, politics, USA | Leave a comment

50 States One Israel – Wikipedia

26 Sept 25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_States_One_Israel

50 States One Israel was a conference held in Israel from September 14, 2025 to September 18, 2025[1] for state legislators from the United States and members of the Israeli government.[2][3] Hosted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the conference was described as the largest delegation of elected officials to visit Israel.[2] According to Lior Haiat, Deputy Director for North America at the Foreign Ministry, lawmakers including state legislators from all 50 states were in attendance.[2]

According to a July 8, 2025 letter to Oregon Representative David Gomberg sent by Israel’s consulate-general to the Northwest, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide “roundtrip economy airfare from New York to Tel Aviv (including domestic U.S. flights to NYC),” and “all in-country transportation, accommodations, meals, and guided programming.”[1] Five lawmakers from every state were expected to attend.[5

……………… On September 15, 2025, attendees visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[6] Later, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged American lawmakers to pass anti-BDS laws in their states.[7] In the evening, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu gave a welcome address to the delegation.[8][9] ……………………..

On September 17, 2025, President of Israel Isaac Herzog addressed the delegation, saying that Israel’s “ironclad bond with the United States of America [exists] because we drink from the same fountain: the values of the Bible”.[11]………………….

Impact

In the period following the conference, several participants faced criticism from constituents, the general public, and family. The daughter of New Mexico State Senator Jay Block took to social media platforms to register her disgust with her father’s participation in the conference, stating “It seems like he sold his soul to the devil and is now just peddling lies and propaganda… I just genuinely hope that this will be the end of my dad’s political career…”[61] Leading up to a potential government shutdown, Republican House Speaker Matt Hall of Michigan had instructed the Republican caucus not to leave the state while the budget was not completed and removed all bills from Representative Jaime Greene’s committee for her absence in attending the event.[62]

References.…………………………………………………

September 27, 2025 Posted by | Israel, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Iran publishes alleged leak of Israeli nuclear sites, experts and secret files

Itamar EichnerLior Ben Ari, 24 Sept 25, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1errtw2eg

Iran’s intelligence ministry claims Israelis leaked sensitive documents and photos for money, including details on 189 nuclear experts, images of the Dimona reactor and personal photos of IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.

Iran’s intelligence ministry on Wednesday published what it described as a large trove of “secret and classified” Israeli documents and photographs, claiming the materials were leaked by Israelis themselves.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib said the documents include footage from “the Dimona reactor and Israeli nuclear facilities,” details on “upgrades to nuclear weapons,” and information on “past and present Israeli projects developed in cooperation with the United States and the European Union.” He also claimed the material contains “a full list of staff and the administrative structure of Israel’s nuclear weapons program.”

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Iran, Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Iran says it obtained secret files on Israel’s nuclear program

25 Sept 25, https://www.iranintl.com/en/202509242634

According to the intelligence ministry, the material demonstrated that Israeli intelligence spies “on everyone,” including the IAEA chief, and that the data it had obtained proves this claim.

Iran’s intelligence ministry aired a segment on national TV displaying information and documents that it says it obtained from Israel’s intelligence apparatus on the Jewish state’s nuclear program

The broadcast featured a series of video files that reportedly contain material from inside Israeli nuclear and other sensitive facilities, including the Dimona site. It also presented alleged details about personnel working on Israel’s nuclear program.

“We identified 189 Israeli nuclear and proliferation scientists and top officials, along with their networks,” Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said during the presentation, which included names and ID cards of alleged nuclear personnel.

“I tell Netanyahu … your employees collaborated with us for money and still do,” Khatib, a cleric and veteran military and intelligence official, added.

Israel is widely believed to have an undeclared nuclear arsenal.

Tehran’s nemesis killed nuclear scientists and hundreds of military personnel in a surprise 12-day military campaign in June, underscoring Iranian intelligence failures.

Iran has said it too has infiltrated its enemy, and Israel has arrested several of its citizens on charges of spying for Tehran.

One alleged employee was introduced with a photo and described as working across seven Israeli nuclear sites under the cover of a company called ROTEM.

Another was identified as a nuclear scientist allegedly involved in “proliferation projects” between Israel and the United States.

It also mentioned the Chaim Weizmann laboratory, which it described as Israel’s leading proliferation program and was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles during a 12-day war in June.

Additional documents shown in the broadcast suggested alleged nuclear cooperation between Israel and France under a project called SARAF.

One batch of the alleged material included private and family photos of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi it alleged was obtained from Israeli intelligence sources.

The video, published on Tasnim’s Telegram channel, showed images of Grossi with his family at Disneyland, at home during birthdays and in gatherings with colleagues and friends.

According to the intelligence ministry, the material demonstrated that Israeli intelligence spies “on everyone,” including the IAEA chief, and that the data it had obtained proves this claim.

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Iran, Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Israel launches drone attack against “terrorist flotilla” after discovering it was trying to feed starving Palestinians

Laura and Normal Island News, Sep 24, 2025, https://www.normalisland.co.uk/p/israel-launches-drone-attack-against?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1407757&post_id=174430619&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ln98x&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Israel was left with no choice but to launch a drone attack against a flotilla in international waters after discovering it was trying to feed starving Palestinians.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is composed of 50 boats from 44 countries across four continents. It is carrying renowned terrorist leaders Greta Thunberg and Tadgh Hickey, as well as deadly items such as food and medicine.

The Israel Foreign Ministry called out the flotilla’s “violent course of action” and “mission to serve Hamas, rather than the people of Gaza”. Needless to say, trying to feed starving children is a crime against Zionism.

This is one of those rare occasions when it is not antisemitic to accuse Israel because they’re not exactly denying it. Experience tells us that being honest about these things is simpler because the lies make us look like fucking idiots.

Last time around, we mocked Greta’s “selfie yacht”, but this time, the flotilla is bigger and therefore requires a change of language. Remember when we pretended the drone attack was just a flare that was fired by the crew and came back down on the boat? This time the drone attacks are so obvious, we’ve had to stop pretending.

By placing the terrorist label on the flotilla, Israel has given itself permission to kill whoever it likes, and it certainly likes killing people. Israel has made a habit of murdering humanitarian workers throughout this genocide, due to the risk they could save Palestinian lives.

While Israel has not yet succeeded in killing anyone aboard the flotilla, it could not resist the opportunity to attack such helpless targets. It dropped chemicals on two boats with a drone – a move that would be absolutely pointless, unless the chemicals were toxic.

Israel reportedly hit the other boats with “sound bombs” and “explosive flares”. Sensibly, Israel jammed their radios so they could not call for help. It even hacked those radios and played Abba songs to mock Greta. What do you mean, that is “small dick energy”?

Drones are continuously passing over the boats, leaving the crews guessing when they will next be attacked. The drone operators find this sort of thing amusing. The only thing they find more amusing is blowing up civilians in aid queues.

While the flotilla is still in international waters, it is currently heading for Palestinian waters. Armchair legal experts insist Israel also has no jurisdiction there, but maritime law clearly states Israel can do whatever the fuck it wants.

Thirteen British nationals are travelling with the flotilla, so naturally, the prime minister hasn’t offered a word of solidarity. You will be reassured to hear that Israel has the full consent of the British government to murder our citizens.

Keir Starmer has held an emergency meeting to see what his excuse will be if Israel sinks a British vessel and murders everyone on board. One of those people is RAF veteran Malcolm Ducker and another is army veteran Greg Stoker. If it comes to siding with our military or theirs, the British government is obviously going to choose Israel. Isn’t that lovely? x

September 26, 2025 Posted by | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Trump to Netanyahu: ‘Here’s another $6 billion to polish off those pesky Palestinians.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL, 24 Sept 25

President Trump has more important things to accomplish than spend taxpayer treasure on the commons, be it infrastructure, education, health care, green energy to name a few. Nope, top of the list for Trump is gifting his comrade in Palestinian genocide Benjamin Netanyahu with another $6 billion in weaponry to complete Israel’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

The six billion includes 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and 3,250 infantry assault vehicles, just what Netanyahu needs to obliterate Palestinians he doesn’t starve to death. All this with a compliant Congress and Trump’s grisly assistance.  

Meanwhile the American public largely ignores the genocide its government enables; indeed could not occur without the tens of billions first Biden and now Trump has gifted Israel in the two years of genocidal ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Americans should take a page from the Italian public which is putting America to shame with their pushback against their government’s support of the genocide.

Yesterday Italian labor unions led a massive 24-hour general strike to protest Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands in over 75 cities across Italy shut down businesses, schools, train stations and ports.

Protest leaders targeted right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, pointing out her complicity in Israeli’s genocide through arms sales to Israel. Meloni has rejected the ICC warrants and said Netanyahu would not be arrested if he enters Italy.

Giuseppe Conte, who leads the independent progressive Five Star Movement charged “Meloni should listen to the voice of those who are peacefully protesting and asking her to act, rather than curling up to Washington to protect her friend, the war criminal Netanyahu. “Meloni should take a stand with the facts against those who have slaughtered 20,000 children, rather than limiting herself to saying, ‘I do not agree.’ And she should stop running away from the debate in Parliament.”

The Italian pushback is more symbolic than substantive since Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni is a small player in genocide enabling compared to America’s monstrous, decisive role.

Wake up Americans. Replicate the Italian general strike here and even ravenous genocide enabler Trump, his ghoulish genocide advisors and our deplorable Congress might have to take notice and pivot to peace.

September 25, 2025 Posted by | Israel, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Israel’s takeover of Gaza City to add $7.5BN to Israel’s and US’s taxpayer burden.

Tyler Durden, ZeroHedge,Tue, 23 Sep 2025, https://www.sott.net/article/501968-Israels-takeover-of-Gaza-City-to-add-7-5BN-to-US-taxpayer-burden

In the past Israel relied on its weapons superiority to dissuade potential attacks from neighbors, but that gap is obviously narrowing, as the massive Iranian retaliatory missile strikes on Tel Aviv and other cities demonstrated last June. Lessons from Ukraine should also be taken into account, as Israeli armor might not have the same battlefield presence it once did if cheap drones are so effective in destroying vastly more expensive tanks.

While the superior-armedIDF military has clearly been pushing forward in Gaza, as the war is soon to reach the two-year mark, Hamas has all the while released a steady stream of battlefield videos showing its militants engaged in successful ambushes. Large IDF tanks have been blown up often by militants sneaking up and placing IEDs directly on them.

The fact that Israel has since Oct.7 been engaging hostile groups from the Houthis of Yemen, to the Iranians, to Hezbollah in Lebanon – has meant a severe strain on public and government coffers. Israel has also frequently bombed Syria, as it did back in the days of Assad, and is now occupying parts of the country’s south, well beyond the Golan Heights. All of this also requires more manpower, and steady updates regarding weapons tech, parts, and mechanical upkeep.

Now there are new risks and mounting costs involved, as reservists continued to be called up in the thousands, connected to the effort to fully take over Gaza City – the Strip’s most populous location.

New Monday reporting in Bloomberg says that “Israel’s push to take over Gaza City is expected to add 25 billion shekels ($7.5 billion) to the war bill through the end of the year, according to an Israeli government official.”

“The added costs — equivalent to more than 1% of Israel’s gross domestic product — will pile onto the 204-billion-shekel military tally for the almost two-year war in Gaza, which spread to Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Yemen,” the report continues. That’s over $60 billion total.

Additionally the report notes that “Reservists’ salaries, ammunition and missile interceptors make up the bulk of spending, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters that haven’t been made public.”

There are other indirect factors putting an immense strain on funding the war effort, amid Israel’s increased global isolation, as CNN writes:

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is calling on Israel’s arms makers to step up their readiness. “We will need to strengthen our independent weapons industries so that we have munitions independence, a defense industrial economy, and the industrial capability to produce them,” he said last Monday, speaking at a finance ministry conference.

Israel and its arms makers have long been viewed as producing cutting-edge weapons technology, and those weapons have been sold to countries around the world. But as international criticism of the war in Gaza grows, Israel risks losing its position in some of those markets.

But the ‘special relationship’ with Washington will once again form the basis of bailing Israel out, and the Trump White House is already pushing for Congress to approve a nearly $6 billion arms deal with Israel.

The proposed package includes 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters valued at $3.8 billion, which would nearly double Israel’s current fleet, as well as 3,250 infantry fighting vehicles – at $1.9 billion.

Trump is said to be deeply frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the risky Doha operation targeting Hamas leaders earlier this month, but certainly this public stance doesn’t square with promise of $6 billion more in weapons. It’s yet another example of watch what Trump does and not what he says.

September 25, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, Israel, politics | Leave a comment

The genie of ‘Israeli First’ dominance is out of the bottle

Alastair Crooke, September 22, 2025, https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/09/22/genie-israel-first-dominance-is-out-bottle/

Netanyahu will soon find that Israel has lost America – and the rest of the world, too.

‘Gaza is on fire; the Jewish state will not relent’, Israeli Defence Minister Katz excitedly proclaims: The IDF is striking with an Iron fist at terrorist infrastructure”. In fact, over recent weeks Israel has struck at ‘infrastructure’ in West Bank, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Tunisia – besides Gaza.

The so-called ‘Rules-Based Order’ blueprint (if it ever truly existed beyond narrative) has been ripped up in favour of violent Zionism: Genocide, sneak attacks under the guise of on-going peace negotiations, assassinations, and the de-capitation of political leaderships. It is war without limits; without rules; without law; and in complete disdain for the UN Charter. Ethical boundaries, more particularly, are dismissed as mere ‘moral relativism’.

Something profound is re-shaping Israeli foreign policy. The transformation needs be understood as a U-turn within the very core of Zionist thinking (a journey from Ben Gurion to Kahane), as Yossi Klein has written.

Israel’s strategy from past decades continues to rest on the hope of achieving some literal Chimeric transformative ‘de-radicalisation’ of both Palestinians and of the Region, writ large – a de-radicalisation that will make ‘Israel safe’. This has been the ‘holy grail’ objective for Zionists since Israel was first founded.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer claims that such radical mutation in consciousness will only come from the bombing of opponents into utter submission. (The lesson which he draws from WWII). One aspect – Israel’s foreign policy – then is clear: It is the ‘War of the Jungle’.

But there is another aspect; one perhaps more troubling: These norms and ethical principles that Israel openly seeks to tear apart are, in the last resort, American proclaimed norms and values. Strikingly, the U.S. has abandoned its traditional ethos when it comes to Israel. And rather than criticise or seek to limit Israel’s use of such norm-busting military actions, the Trump Administration emulates them – sneak attacks under the guise of talking peace, de-capitation attempts, and striking with missiles at unknown vessels off Venezuela, vaporising the crew.

The U.S. is doing this openly – thumbing its nose, like Israel, at international law and conventions.

It does appear that key components of the U.S. Establishment increasingly favour the military strategies of Israel and even are shifting from the moral ethos of a ‘Just War’, shall we say, to one closer to the Hebraic ethos of ‘Amalek’. It amounts to updating western moral ‘software’ with the alternative ‘justice’ of absolute war.

Does the Israel state have a future? Israel is now carrying out a second Nakba in Gaza and the West Bank, with Jewish society remaining trapped in repression and denial – just as it was back in 1948. Israeli Historian, Ilan Pappe wrote in 2006 in his seminal work on the 1948 Nakba the fundamental importance of “retrieving [the events of 1948] from oblivion”:

Once the decision was taken [on 10 March 1948], it took six months to complete the mission. When it was over, more than half of Palestine’s native population, close to 800,000 people, had been uprooted, 531 villages … destroyed, and eleven urban neighbourhoods emptied of their inhabitants. The plan … and above all its systematic implementation in the following months, was a clear-cut case of an ethnic cleansing operation, regarded under international law today as a crime against humanity …

The story of 1948 is not complicated … It is the simple but horrific story of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, a crime against humanity that Israel has wanted to deny and cause the world to forget. Retrieving it from oblivion is incumbent upon us, not just as a greatly overdue act of historiographical reconstruction or professional duty; it is … a moral decision, the very first step we must take if we ever want reconciliation to have a chance.

I wrote recently how Israeli film-maker Neta Shoshani’s controversial documentary about the 1948 Nakba showed Israeli ethical and legal boundaries to have been erased in a bout of bloodletting and rape. The absolute loss of ethos (there was no accounting or justice), Shoshani says, imperilled the then-legitimacy of the State founding project. Repeated a second time – the current war – she warns, “could be the one That Ends Israel”.

Shoshani’s comments hint at the trauma felt by secular liberal Jews at witnessing the norms and lifestyle of their largely secular-liberal society upended by the swivel towards the militaristic and eschatological objectives of the Israeli Right. Finance Minister Smotrich declared recently that the Jewish people are experiencing “the process of redemption and the return of the divine presence to Zion – as they engage in the ‘conquest of the land’”.

Many European Jews did arrive in the new Israeli state to find safety and protection, however, they also came to participate in the Zionist project in Palestine.

For now, Netanyahu states he has Trump’s “100%” support and “unlimited credit” for the maelstrom unleashed across the region. As Ben Caspit writes, quoting a senior Israeli diplomat:

“The fact that Rubio landed here just days after the [Doha] attack, and voiced almost no criticism — in fact, the opposite — gives a tailwind to Israel’s operation in Gaza … Israel has not received such a generous and long line of credit from any American administration”.

And Trump seems to be moving away from the ‘global peacemaker’ moniker to concentrate more narrowly on demonstrating American ‘exceptional greatness’ – through tariffs, sanctions or military operations – thus demonstrating a dominating, if not Great, America.

Yet the problems are all too apparent: In previous years, Israel had been largely relegated to the sidelines at the U.S. National Conservatism Conference. This time around, the Jewish state and its wars couldn’t be avoided. The latest Conservatism conference slid into ‘civil war’ between the neo-con ‘realists’ supporting Israel, and those asking: “Why are these our wars? Why are Israel’s endless problems America’s liabilities? Why should we accept [Israel as being part of] ‘America First’?”, as the editor of The American Conservative exploded: “We f***ing shouldn’t!”

The tension within the Republican Party is obvious: MAGA supporters wish to support Trump, but the big Jewish donors and commentators, such as pro-Israel hawk Max Abrahms, mocked Tucker Carlson-loving “MAGA isolationists” at the conference, who had gone “insane” in their push to disengage from the Middle East.

Trump warned Netanyahu that the genocide in Gaza is causing Israel to bleed support among Republicans, including especially among younger people. Nonetheless, Trump has not modified his unwavering support for Israel (for whatever reason), but he has taken notice of the ‘mood vibe’ amongst his base.

If Trump has indeed noticed the change, Netanyahu doesn’t care. As Amir Tibon in Haaretz reports:

“If Trump thinks his comments on Israel’s loss of ‘control over Congress’ will be a wake-up call for Netanyahu, he’s mistaken. Israelis didn’t need Trump to know that their country is losing the battle over global public opinion”.

“Netanyahu and Ron Dermer … are at peace with Israel’s loss of international support, heightened isolation, the threats of sanctions against it, and arrest warrants for its leaders (including Netanyahu himself). The two don’t seem to care, and the reason, ironically, is the very man sounding the alarm: Donald Trump”.

“From Netanyahu’s point of view, as long as he’s got Trump’s backing – none of it matters”.

Well, Israel’s wars have lost a generation of young American conservatives – and they’re not coming back. Whatever the circumstances to the killing of Charlie Kirk, his death has let loose the genie of ‘Israeli First’ dominance in Republican politics to escape from the bottle.

When Netanyahu does peer out, he will find that Israel has lost America (and the rest of the world, too).

September 24, 2025 Posted by | Israel, politics international | Leave a comment