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War Fatigue Settles Among Palestinians
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar looks on as Palestinian Hamas supporters take part in an anti-Israel rally over tension in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, in Gaza City, Oct. 1, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
JNS.org – One year after the Hamas atrocities in southern Israel ignited a multi-front war between the Jewish state and Iran’s regional proxies, a discernible trend is emerging among many Palestinians, especially those in Gaza. They are getting tired of the war.
War fatigue doesn’t mean that the Palestinians have suddenly developed an appetite for real peace—a peace, that is, in which Israel’s right to exist is welcomed, not contested, along with trade, educational and cultural agreements replacing boycotts, and a shared focus on regional security and regional development. The eliminationist ideology that resides at the heart of the Palestinian national movement, which expressed itself with astonishing brutality during the Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel, still prevails. But unlike the well-fed performative morons donning keffiyehs, banging drums and chanting antisemitic slogans in the streets and on the university campuses of Western cities, the Palestinians of Gaza have suffered immensely because of the actions of Hamas. Many of them are now asking whether it was all worth it.
Indeed, throughout this year, pockets of dissent have emerged among ordinary Palestinians fed up with Hamas thugs stealing humanitarian aid intended for their families, with some of them rightly accusing the terrorist organization of not giving a damn about their welfare, given that a punishing response from Israel was never in doubt in the wake of the massacre of 1,200 people. A report from the Reuters news agency last week quoted a Gazan mother named Samira wistfully remembering what her life was like before Oct. 7. “Despite all the hardships, our life was going well. We had jobs, houses and a city,” she said. Her dutiful description of Israel as “our prime enemy” didn’t prevent her from blaming Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the atrocity, for inviting the Israeli response. “What was he thinking? Didn’t he expect that Israel would destroy Gaza?” she asked.
Sinwar did expect precisely that. It was, moreover, something that he wanted. The “Butcher of Khan Yunis”—a moniker that Sinwar earned due to his reputation for torturing and murdering Palestinians opposed to Hamas—doubtless regards “martyrdom” as a fitting end to his blood-drenched campaign. His Qatar-based billionaire comrade, Khaled Mashaal, thinks similarly, declaring in an interview last week that Hamas will “rise like a phoenix” from the ashes of Gaza. That’s easy to say if you’re lounging at the Four Seasons in Doha wearing an expensive Italian suit. It’s not so easy if you’re a Gazan compelled to live with the consequences of Hamas’s pathology.
Polling by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, a Ramallah-based institute that has usefully observed the shifting sentiments among Palestinians over the last year, bears that out. Its most recent survey, dated Sept. 14, reveals that for the first time, the majority of Gaza civilians—some 57%—now believe that the Oct. 7 atrocities were a mistake. Belief in the proposition that Hamas will still control Gaza at the end of the war has also declined, with 37% of Gazans agreeing with it compared with 70% of respondents in the West Bank. Also worth noting are the shifting opinions on a final settlement of the conflict. Some 39% of respondents support a two-state solution—a figure that rises to 59% when the phrase “two-state solution” is not mentioned but the borders of a Palestinian state are defined by the armistice lines of 1949. Only 19% of respondents expressed support for an Israeli-Palestinian confederation, while just 10% backed the single state—“from the river to the sea”—that would entail the complete elimination of Israel.
The latest mood of realism among Palestinians has been seen before, which is a good reason not to become overly optimistic. Given the heavy blows that have been sustained in the last year, with Hamas decimated as a cohesive fighting force and much of Gaza reduced to rubble, it isn’t surprising that more and more Palestinians are acknowledging that they have had enough. The shift may help secure a ceasefire and the release of the 101 Israeli hostages still languishing in Hamas captivity (although even then, as long as Sinwar calls the shots and ignores the pleas of his people, there is less likelihood of that outcome.) What it won’t do is bring about a peace where Israel is accepted by the Palestinians and the broader Arab world on its own terms.
Israelis will correctly remain skeptical of reading too much into the changing mood. The idea of a democratic Jewish state with a permanent presence in the region still represents a red line that most Palestinians won’t cross. As the folksy observation has it, it’s one thing to think with your head, and another to feel with your heart. With Hamas on the ropes, with its Hezbollah ally in Lebanon humiliated and emasculated by Israel’s operations north of the border, and with Iran facing an Israeli counterattack that could yet bring an end to the regime of Ali Khamenei in Tehran—the ultimate source of all this suffering—a sensible head will conclude that the time is right for an interim deal. But eliminationism will continue to fester in Palestinian hearts unless and until it is properly addressed.
It’s often said that the wholesale transformation of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan at the end of World War II was only possible because both of the regimes in those countries were unambiguously defeated. Looking at Palestinian politics now, we are very far from such a scenario. All the leaders and all the factions that predominate—Islamist or nationalist, Marwan Barghouti of Fatah or Yahya Sinwar of Hamas—are wedded to the idea that Zionism lies at the root of their ills. Whatever divides them, they are united in the belief that their “liberation” can only be achieved at the expense of another state and another nation; essentially, a zero-sum game that determines for Palestine to live, Israel must die. I dare to hope, given the progress in the field in recent months, that Israel can significantly lessen, if not banish, the prospect of another Oct. 7. I dare not hope for much more than that.
The post War Fatigue Settles Among Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Who Is the Biggest Bastard?’ Belgian Politician Equates Israel With Hamas After Refusing Jewish New Year Greeting

Matthias Diependaele, Minister‑President of Flanders, has faced backlash after declining to send a Rosh Hashanah message to Belgium’s Jewish community. Photo: Screenshot
A senior Belgian politician who recently refused to send a Jewish New Year message has once again sparked outrage for equating Israel with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Matthias Diependaele, Minister‑President of Flanders — the Dutch-speaking region in northern Belgium — was speaking before the Flemish Parliament on Tuesday when he argued the world’s lone Jewish state and only democracy in the Middle East was no better morally than an international designated terrorist group.
“How do you explain who is the biggest bastard?” he asked. “On the one hand, you have an innovative, modern country that should be based on Western standards, but uses disproportionate force and commits human rights violations without any compassion. On the other hand, you see a terrorist organization that doesn’t hesitate to hide behind a human shield. Who is the bigger bastard? The one who shoots at children? Or the one who uses them as a human shield? I don’t know. I choose the innocent victims, and I want to think about how best to help them.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the ongoing war with their invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating widespread sexual violence. In response, Israel has waged a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths during its war effort to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas, which rules Gaza, has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the Israeli miitary.
Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
Diependaele belongs to the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the same center-right party led by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. His parliamentary remarks prompted immediate backlash.
“The Flemish Alliance has completely surrendered to leftist pressure and no longer has a moral compass. He compares a free society and democratic state, existentially threatened, to a gang of murderous Muslim terrorists,” said Sam van Rooy, a lawmaker from the right-wing Vlaams Belang party, according to multiple reports. “This is why I continue responding to the anti-Israeli debate, constantly fed by leftist parties and traditional parties — it causes masks to fall. Israel is a litmus test. Now we know that, unfortunately, Flanders is controlled by a prime minister who cannot distinguish between good and evil.”
Diependaele has even received criticism from other members of Belgium’s five-party federal government coalition.
Sammy Mahdi, head of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V), described the remarks in an Instagram post as “shameful” and indicative of “a lack of common sense.”
CD&V and Vooruit, another political party in the coalition, said on Wednesday that Diependaele was not speaking on behalf of the government, according to Belgian media.
Diependaele’s comments came after he declined a request last week by the Belgian Jewish newspaper The Centrale to provide a Rosh Hashanah message. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, will take place in late September this year.
“After internal deliberation, we regret to inform you that, given the current situation and sensitivities concerning the tensions in the Middle East, we cannot follow up on your request,” the statement from Diependaele’s office read.
“Anything that bears even the slightest connection to this conflict is being closely monitored and examined under a magnifying glass. For that reason, we do not deem it opportune to go into this any further,” it continued.
According to the Jewish newspaper, requesting a Rosh Hashanah greeting from Belgium’s leaders for the country’s Jewish citizens has been a long-standing tradition.
“This year, even that became radioactive,” The Centrale wrote.
Shortly after the newspaper published Diependaele’s response, which drew widespread outrage from Belgium’s Jewish community, the politician rejected claims of antisemitism and attempted to defend his earlier statement.
“My refusal is purely based on the principle that, for more than 15 years in my role as a representative of the people, I have not supported religious activities,” Diependaele wrote in a new letter sent to The Centrale.
“I have also never accepted invitations for the Eid. I have also never taken part in a Te Deum for Catholics,” the Flemsih leader continued. “By this I am in no way passing judgment on any religion or on the people who practice it. It is, however, my conviction that no religion — including my own — has any role to play in the exercise of my mandate.”
However, the paper rejected Diependaele’s new letter, arguing that his shift from “too sensitive right now” to a “timeless principle” was an attempt to mask his initial fear of public backlash.
The World Jewish Congress denounced Diependaele’s actions as a clear act of antisemitism.
“Holding Jews in the Diaspora collectively accountable for the actions of Israel – is antisemitic. To be a political leader, and to refuse to acknowledge the traditions and culture of your country’s Jewish community – because of Israel – is antisemitic,” the organization said in a statement. “What transpired is quite clear: A political leader declined to acknowledge their Jewish citizens because of Israel and the perceived public backlash about engaging with Jews.”
While members of the Belgian government have been pushing for a tougher stance against Israel amid the Gaza war, the country has been less critical of the Israeli military campaign in recent months than other European countries.
In late April, for example, De Wever rejected a journalist’s claim that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and argued it is premature to recognize a “Palestinian state.”
Weeks earlier, Belgium announced it would not enforce the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, should he visit Brussels.
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Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi Says ‘We Are Fighting the Jews, Not Zionism’

Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi attends the annual festival of Greek Communist Youth in Athens, Greece, Sept. 22, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Costas Baltas
Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi said on a podcast earlier this month that she is fighting Jews, not Zionism, and that she wishes for World War III.
“I was raised [to believe] that Judaism means occupation, and today, tomorrow, and a million years from now, I will continue to say that Judaism [should] be presented to the children of Palestine – children of my age and younger – as occupation, and that we are fighting the Jews, not Zionism,” Tamimi, now 24, said on “The Enlightenment Podcast” on YouTube on Aug. 8.
Tamimi’s comments were flagged by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which reported on and translated her remarks.
Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi: We Are Fighting the Jews, Not Just Zionism; Westerners Patronize Us with Their Aid, They should Shut Up When We Talk; They Will Give Us Aid, Whether They Like It Or Not, and We Will Not Thank Them; I Wish for a Nuclear WWIII, So the Whole World… pic.twitter.com/NNn5Jf7TD6
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 15, 2025
“The whole world needs to shut up, when a Palestinian is talking,” she said. “We are superior to the entire world, because we are the only ones in the world fighting injustice, at the expense of our lives, and the expense of our humanity.”
Tamimi continued, “Every night when I go to sleep, I put my head on the pillow, and I pray to God to protect the humanity left inside me, because I don’t want to become a killer. In this West of yours, if a mother screams at her child, he grows up to become a serial killer.”
“I have reached a point where I wish for a World War III. Whoever dies, dies, and whoever lives, lives. The important thing is that we will be over with this. I have reached this point,” she said. “Let the whole world be destroyed, I don’t care. Let them drop nuclear bombs, and destroy the whole world, so it won’t be just the Palestinians.”
These recent comments are the most recent in a long string of radical remarks by Tamimi. In November 2023, she wrote, in an Instagram post, “Come on settlers, we are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities from Hebron to Jenin – we will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke.”
Speaking about Israelis who live in the West Bank, she said, “We will drink your blood and eat your skull. Come on, we are waiting for you.”
Tamimi became famous internationally in 2017 when a video of her, then just 16 years old, slapping, kicking, and yelling at Israeli soldiers went viral as a symbol of both Palestinian resistance to Israel, and the asymmetric nature of the conflict. The soldiers did not retaliate but did later arrest her.
Tamimi was convicted on four counts of assaulting an IDF officer and soldier, incitement, and interference with IDF forces in March 2018, and was sentenced to eight months in prison and eight months of probation.
She was released a few months later, in July 2018. Since then, Tamimi has been hailed as a Palestinian human rights activist, received a book deal from Penguin Random House, and consistently received sympathetic coverage from Western news outlets.
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Trump Administration Reaffirms Opposition to Turkey Rejoining F-35 Program

A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt
The Trump administration has reaffirmed its opposition to Turkey’s rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing Ankara’s possession of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
In a letter sent on Wednesday to US Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), a senior State Department official reiterated that Washington remains committed to enforcing the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which penalizes countries with financial ties to Russia’s defense sector.
“The Trump administration is fully committed to protecting US defense and intelligence assets and complying with US law, including CAATSA,” the letter read
The message, signed by Paul Guaglianone of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, stated that Washington’s position “has not changed” and that Turkey’s continued possession of the Russian-supplied S-400 remains incompatible with US law and defense requirements. The official stressed that the Trump administration was fully committed to protecting American defense and intelligence assets while maintaining its obligations under the National Defense Authorization Act.
Despite the strained relationship, the letter emphasized that Turkey remains a longstanding NATO ally. US officials framed the relationship as critical to the security interests of both countries and signaled a willingness to maintain dialogue with Ankara.
In 2017, despite several US warnings, Ankara purchased the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, leading to Turkey’s expulsion from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The United States seeks to cooperate with Turkey on common priorities and to engage in dialogue to resolve disagreements,” Guaglianone wrote, while maintaining that Washington has “expressed our disapproval of Ankara’s acquisition of the S-400 and clearly conveyed steps that would need to be taken” in the sanctions review process.
The letter came after a bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law. Members of Congress warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington had begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Under Section 1245 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon is prohibited from transferring F-35 jets or related technology to Turkey unless Ankara no longer possesses the Russian-made S-400 system and provides assurances it will not acquire such equipment in the future. Because Turkey continues to retain the S-400, US officials are legally barred from approving its participation in the F-35 program.