Trump's stance on Ukraine is nothing like the pre-election hysteria. I think a post on here a while ago I said I found it highly unlikely that Trump would just "abandon" Ukraine. Now it looks like he is ready to impose sanctions and high tariffs on Russia if they don't settle. Good move.
The next 4 hostages have been handed over. They certainly don’t like they’ve gone without at any stage, that’s for sure
Palestinian prisoners just being released and released earlier than expected today, caught the news channels by surprise.
Israel will not let Palestinians cross into Northern Gaza until a specific female hostage has been released, Arbel Yehoud. Was she meant to have been one of the original four today?
I seen this on the report. Yehoud was supposed to return on Saturday, but was not released. Israel said Hamas failed to meet its obligations to first release Israeli female civilian hostages as part of the agreement.
I can sadly think of two reasons this would be. Hopefully it’s just Hamas doing Hamas things (also they executed 11 Palestinians in the street the other day but Western wet wipes either won’t know or certainly won’t care). Possibly she’s dead.
The last bit was my immediate thought, sadly… Never knew about them executing their own civilians, no. I’m sure they’ll just be chucked in with the war figures.
Found it Hamas murdered 11 Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday who the terrorist organization accused of “collaborating” with Israel, according to Hamas-aligned media sources. Gaza Now, a Hamas-aligned news outlet based in Gaza, reported on Thursday that “six collaborators of the Zionist occupation were executed in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, a short while ago.” “And punishing 17 others by shooting them in the feet as a result of exploiting the suffering of the people of Gaza and cooperating with the occupation in suffocating the people, raising prices, and stealing humanitarian aid, including merchants,” Gaza Now added. Then, the news outlet reported that “five collaborators of the Zionist occupation were executed in the southern Gaza Strip a short while ago, bringing the number of collaborators executed today to 11.” Video posted by Gaza Now shows what appear to be Hamas terrorists shooting civilians who are lying on the ground. According to the outlet, these executions are likely only the start of a widespread crackdown on those in Gaza who are suspected of “collaborating with Israel.” Adding that executions will begin to take place across the Gaza Strip, not just in Rafah, the outlet said that “a special unit of the security services in Gaza will strike with an iron fist, and there will be no repentance for anyone except the punishment of bullets.” In response to the news, Hamza Hawidy, a Palestinian originally from Gaza City who is a peace activist, explained that this was to be “expected” from Hamas, which has ruled Gaza with brutal force since it first took over the coastal enclave in the mid-2000s. “This isn’t a novel tactic,” Hawidy argued. “It’s an age-old strategy employed by Hamas to silence critics and instill fear among citizens who oppose their rule. I would greatly welcome a position from the pro-Palestinian movement advocating for pressure on Hamas to end its ongoing oppression of the people in Gaza.” Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who is a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and a Palestinian peace activist originally from Gaza, argued that “many ‘human rights’ organizations around the world have long seen the videos of Hamas’s terrorist thugs brutalizing the civilian population in Gaza, never saying a word of acknowledgment or condemnation because, apparently, Palestinian lives are only worthwhile when Israeli military attacks kill them.” He added that “anyone who is still remaining silent about Hamas’s brutal anti-Palestinian terrorism in Gaza after the ceasefire, when there is conclusive, visual, and overwhelming evidence of the group’s criminality, deserves to be ridiculed and forever shunned by the human rights activism and advocacy communities.”
Bravo As I've said on here since day 1, Hamas are the worst thing to happen to the Palestinians since 1948. Yet some will extol them as some sort of virtuous freedom fighting resistance movement. They are not. They are nothing more than genocidal animals with a pathological disregard for life.
I've just been catching up on todays news, I just realised I remember the capture of those women released today, their captors had released video footage in the early days of the outbreak of this war. I remember one looking quite beat up and blood coming from the mouth and another limping out to the waiting vehicle to take them somewhere.
Even the hostage deal sends a message doesn't it One Israeli hostage is worth hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli hostages hand delivered to their families. Palestinians have to toodle over checkpoints on foot in their hundreds. "An Israeli is just worth more" it seems to scream.
Would it be better if Israel insisted on it being 1:1 or didn’t agree to releasing loads of murderers and terrorists which is the only way of getting back a tiny number of young women, including Sinwar himself? Reports are now the missing female hostage was traded by Hamas to some other group who Hamas are now having to negotiate with to get her back. They of course knew this when negotiating the ceasefire. All under the noses of the UN and the others. Great bunch of lads. Be sure to get on the next march for ‘freedom’.
A lot of them women and children too. Often arrested for nonsense infractions like waving a flag or throwing stones and held without charge in conditions that Save the Children describe as 'Horrific' subject to physical, sexual abuse and mental torture. Obviously Hamas have carried out horrendous atrocities against Israeli detainees too. But this **** has been going on for years, long long before Oct 7th And we call one a terrorist organisation, yet the other passes as a legit govt.....
I can never really make sense of the hostage deals, and I've said as much recently, I even said I would not agree a deal on the terms that has been agreed. I'd like to think the reason that Israel release so many prisoners is to free up the cells and cost of holding so many, but I'd assume people will tell me that's not why. My idea of hostage exchanges is one and one, every human equal. I thought the Israeli hostages looked in better condition than the Palestinian prisoners, I'd like to understand why that is?....or does a tv screen not reveal the true extent of well-being certainly regarding their psychological condition, highly probable...although previous hostage release, one was minus two fingers, so it's hard to judge without the medical facts. I see the hostage that was not released yesterday, is still alive according to Hamas, and will be released I think they said this coming Saturday. It makes me wonder, was she in the wrong place to be able to meet the schedule, without giving away her location (other hostages may be there) or would she not play the games and be paraded like the released hostages. No idea the real reason, just a thought process of deduction. Interesting to see that Hamas manage to find their uniforms when parading hostages, acting the big soldiers when not hiding behind women and chilkdren.
This is a huge danger in the messaging, yes. The perspective given very very clearly in the Israeli press and on the street is that 'we value life much more than they do'. Which also rings true. But inherent in these deals is the continued infantilising of the Palestinians which the world continues to indulge at every possible turn. As long as they are perceived as a worthless, faceless mass of incapable nobodies, that's exactly how they will continue to be treated - by all involved.
