United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

JNS.org – There was no way to write about the latest depravity before it happened. We thought we knew, but we didn’t.

Now we do.

The short form is that they staged a raucous celebration with children singing and dancing as four coffins moved along. They provided keys to the Israel Defense Forces for unlocking the coffins—keys that didn’t work. Propaganda material was in each coffin. One held a person that it turns out was not Shiri Bibas, mother of Ariel and Kfir, wife of Yarden.

In the aftermath, people have had a lot to say.

What friends and supporters of Israel are saying and writing is wrenching but not unexpected. Among them are friends that Israel and Jews can count on, including Col. Richard Kemp, a retired British Army officer; Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.); Karoline Preisler, a lawyer and politician based in Berlin; John Spencer, the chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute; and Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

An amazing number of public voices suddenly found their outrage.

The biggest fraud in this was U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “I condemn … Under international law … They must comply … Respect for the dignity of … .” And so on and so on.

Who cares? More than 500 days ago, 1,200 people were killed in Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, in what we thought then was the most horrific manner conceived by the human brain. (We might have been wrong. What happened to those who have and had been held captive by terrorists inside the Gaza Strip may have been worse.) More than 500 days ago, more than 250 people—some still living, some now deceased—were dragged from southern Israel into Gaza as hostages in violation of “international law,” which clearly applies in only certain cases, none involving Israelis or Jews.

The deafening silence by Guterres about murdered and mutilated Jewish men, women and children (babies!), coupled with his loud, ongoing condemnation of Israel’s defense and support of Hamas will be his legacy. Along with the lunatic propaganda that came out of U.N. agencies over which he presides.

The BBC reported, “Once again, there was a stage, flanked by huge posters highlighting the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the Palestinian determination to stay put.” They missed the graphic showing the Bibas family—all of them—on the banner with a vampire-like image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his mouth dripping with blood, standing behind them, and missed the Nazi chants.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is waiting “in agony.”

Amnesty International was reminded of the “urgent need to immediately release the civilian hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained.” Amazing how the bodies of babies murdered by hand remind Amnesty of the need to release Palestinians detained and tried for terror activities in the court of a democratic country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which failed to visit a single hostage, deliver any medicine or ensure that the hostages were treated according to international humanitarian law, was worried about bodies. “We have unequivocally clarified that any release—of living hostages or ones that are no longer alive—must be carried out respectfully and privately.”

“Privately” is a euphemism for not letting the world see the degradation imposed on people, living and dead, by Hamas.

Palestinian voices were interesting.

After 500-plus days of moaning about (fake) genocide, (fake) famine and (fake) hideous brutality of Israel in Gaza, now (now!) they are jumping over each other to say, “No, it wasn’t me, and yes, it was them, and yes, I’m so upset about the Bibas children.”

One wrote, “Seeing my feed with so many Palestinians who stood and loudly stated that Hamas should never have abducted the hostages makes me very proud. We shall never forget the crime they committed against the Bibas family.”

Another, “My feed is full of Palestinians condemning the kidnapping of the Bibas family &and children. No one with a conscience can justify such a crime. We must uphold our values and speak up for the victims, the innocent and the unheard—no matter who the perpetrators or victims are.”

Not about the women raped, the parents who watched their children die, and the children who watched their parents die on Oct. 7, in addition to the torture, rape, and murder of adult hostage inside Gaza? Just the babies?

Um, no.

Palestinians should be reminded that the government of Israel announced large rewards and safe passage for Palestinian civilians who gave information about the hostages to the IDF. Not one single person came forward. Some hostages were at times imprisoned in “civilian” spaces—forced to cook, clean and watch after Palestinian children in homes in Gaza—including UNRWA spaces, Mr. Guterres. And still, crickets.

For those who say, “Well, the Gaza ‘civilians’ were oppressed by Hamas, so they were afraid to speak out,” note that in every hideous country of Europe during the Holocaust, brave and threatened civilians hid Jews, fed Jews and sheltered Jews. The Garden of the Righteous Among Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem tells their stories of bravery and decency. There will be no Palestinian counterpart.

There were Arab voices, and herein lies hope.

Even before the Abraham Accords were signed in the fall of 2020, there have been voices in the Arab world calling sincerely for coexistence and friendship between Muslim Arabs and Israelis, including its Jewish and non-Jewish population. It is an amazing group of people who stayed the course, even after Oct. 7.

Amjad Taha, political strategist and analyst from the United Arab Emirates; Luai Ahmed, a Yemeni and Swedish journalist, columnist and influence; Hayder Alasadi, the founder and CEO of the Iraqi-Israeli Association of Peace; Bassam Eid, a Palestinian who comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for Israeli TV and radio; and a few others (not many) can have a garden. They were joined Friday by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who said, “What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah.”

So, now what?

Bible study. Deuteronomy. “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.”

Vengeance is His, but the instrument of His wrath is likely here on Earth.

The post The Day After… first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday the US expects the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal to go forward and that he would visit the Middle East in the coming week.

Witkoff made the comments in a CNN “State of the Union” interview after being asked about Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and how he expected the ceasefire to be impacted by developments in the region.

“We have to get an extension of phase one,” Witkoff said. “I’ll be going to the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday Israel was waiting to deliver 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.” Hamas handed over six hostages from Gaza on Saturday.

Some Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released as part of a three-phase ceasefire in Gaza that went into effect just before Trump took office on January 20.

Palestinian officials have cited the blindfolding and binding of hands of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and warnings against holding celebrations at their release as examples of their humiliation by Israeli authorities.

Israel cites Hamas making hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they are handed over, as well as parading coffins with hostage remains through crowds.

Witkoff told CNN that Netanyahu was “well-motivated” and that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza.

Trump himself has faced international condemnation for his proposal to take over Gaza and permanently displace Palestinians there. Rights experts and the United Nations have called it a proposal for ethnic cleansing.

The post Trump Envoy Says US Expects Phase Two of Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal to Proceed first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Israel on Sunday said it will not tolerate presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in southern Syria, nor any other forces affiliated with the country’s new rulers, and demanded the territory be demilitarized.

Former Al Qaeda affiliate HTS took control of Damascus on December 8 in a stunning offensive, ending then-president Bashar al-Assad’s rule and prompting a wary Israel to move forces into a U.N.-monitored demilitarized zone within Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will keep its positions there as a defensive measure and for as long as is necessary.

“We will not allow forces of the HTS or the new Syrian army to enter the territory south of Damascus. We demand full demilitarization of southern Syria, in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida,” Netanyahu said at a military graduation ceremony.

“And we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze sect in southern Syria,” he added. The Druze, who practice an offshoot of Islam, are a minority group in Syria as well as Israel.

Syria has demanded Israel withdraw its forces from the country. The United Nations says Israel’s move into Syrian territory is a violation of international agreements and has also called for the troops to be withdrawn.

The post Israel Won’t Allow HTS Forces in Southern Syria, Netanyahu Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.