Israelis were met with a terror attack outside Jerusalem, missiles near Eilat, and an escalation along the northern border on Thursday morning. All of this happened as the Israeli government says ‘no’ to an imposed Palestinian state.
In a vote of 99 to nine, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) overwhelmingly backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israel rejects international, attempts to impose a Palestinian state unilaterally.
“The people of Israel and their elected representatives are united today as never before,” Netanyahu said.
“Such an attempt will only endanger Israel and will prevent the genuine peace that we all seek. Peace can only be achieved after we achieve total victory over Hamas and through direct negotiations between the parties, direct negotiations without preconditions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israel came under attack on multiple fronts Thursday morning.
Israel’s “Arrow” Aerial Defense System intercepted a missile heading for the Red Sea city of Eilat before it crossed into Israeli territory.
Outside Jerusalem, three heavily armed terrorists from the Bethlehem area opened fire with automatic weapons on vehicles stuck in traffic at the main checkpoint into the city. One person was killed, and 11 others wounded, including a young woman in the advanced stages of pregnancy.
Two terrorists were shot and killed by civilians at the scene and a third was arrested by security forces.
In the north, an anti-tank missile from Lebanon made a direct hit on a home in northern Israel. No injuries were reported.
In Gaza, War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz says the operation in Rafah will begin after the population is evacuated.
“The importance of clearing Rafah lies in the ability to hit Hamas forces operating there, and in the need to demilitarize the Gaza Strip. I repeat, if there is no outline for (a release of) hostages, we will also operate during Ramadan,” Gantz said in reference to the upcoming Muslim Holy month where Muslims fast from pre-dawn until after sunset every day.
Meanwhile, the war in Israel is fueling a sharp rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses in the U.S. A soon-to-be-released study by the Simon Wiesenthal Center of nearly 30 universities shows a free-pass to promoting a pro-Hamas, anti-Zionist agenda.
“From the administration on down, a complete failure, ignorance maybe, but a free-pass to those promoting a pro-Hamas narrative in their universities and making sure that Zionism is a dirty word and Zionists are fair game,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“That has to be changed. It’s against our laws and the pushing back of title six, many of the Jewish groups are involved with that but more importantly, I think, that Jewish students need to demand and should get just equal treatment to everyone else. Every other group is quote/unquote protected, and they should be,” Cooper told CBN News.
Cooper says behind it is the success of pro-Hamas campaigners outside the campus, poisoning the environment inside the campus.
“Going to the streets, blocking airport entrances, and generally driving a narrative that now focuses on the Gazans who are in the middle of the firefight, of course only placed in danger because of Hamas, but with Israel no longer able to push the concerns over American and Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel submitted a report to the U.N. showing how Hamas used brutal, intentional, and widespread sexual violence, including gang rape and dismemberment during its October 7th massacre.
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