Israel, Palestine & the Levant rolling events: Oct 23 on

From the Haaretz email yesterday --

In the coming weeks, the IDF is expected to present its achievements since the beginning of the war in Gaza in an attempt to convince the public that it has succeeded in defeating Hamas' military wing. The IDF said that two of the four battalions of the Rafah Brigade have been defeated, and that the other two are nearing defeat in the coming weeks.

x-post - Friedman's thoughts on rebuilding Gaza after a ceasefire make one go hmmmm

And to Israelis who would ask, “Friedman, are you crazy, you would let Sinwar run Gaza again?” my answer would again be — yes, for now. The alternatives — Israel running Gaza or Gaza becoming another Somalia — are far worse. Netanyahu’s idea that some perfect Palestinians — who are neither members of Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority — will run the place for Israel is a fantasy.

The only people who can defeat Hamas are the Palestinians of Gaza. They, too, need better leadership, and if they find it, we should help them rebuild. But until then, Israel would be crazy to want to stay in Gaza and be responsible for its reconstruction. That honor should go to Sinwar.

Eminently fair to call Israel a rogue state at this point:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/20/idf-transfers-powers-in-occupied-west-bank-to-pro-settler-civil-servants

The Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich.

An order posted by the Israel Defense Forces on its website on 29 May transfers responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration – the Israeli body governing in the West Bank – from the military to officials led by Smotrich at the defence ministry.

Smotrich and his allies have long seen control of the Civil Administration, or significant parts of it, as a means of extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. Their ultimate goal is direct control by central government and its ministries. The transfer reduces the likelihood of legal checks on settlement expansion and development.

​Israeli politicians have long sought to​ find ways to permanently seize, or annex, the occupied West Bank​, which it captured in 1967 and where millions of Palestinians live.

and then there's this: https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/politics/us-concerns-israel-iron-dome-hezbollah

Translation: “we need air support please k thx bye”