THOUSANDS RALLY IN ROME!
by Giulio Meotti (IsraelNationalNews)

Last night, it was a great night in Rome. My newspaper, Il Foglio, rallied for Israel, its right to exist and to defend itself.

More than 1,000 people came to the demonstration. We met along the Tiber river.

In a Europe where barbarians are burning the flags with the star of David again and are calling to “kill the Jews”, some of the river’s lights were for us.

There was lots of security, but courage ultimately prevailed and there was not one incident.

We invited the heads of many Jewish organizations and Israel’s ambassador in Rome, Naor Gilon, to speak. Ordinary citizens came to pay homage to Israel.

We chose the Hatikva anthem as our soundtrack.

This is what I said in my speech at this dramatic time – a non-Jewish Zionist’s words for the sake and future of the Jewish people.

“In these days of slogans such as ‘Death to the Jews’, perhaps Western public opinion would be satisfied if Israel would count more casualties, if Israel’s defense system would not intercept hundreds of missiles launched by Hamas.

“Perhaps, then, the hypocritical request of ‘proportionality’ and the absurd moral equivalence between Jews and terrorists would be satisfied.

“I say this because it is as if 160 missiles fired every day against Israel during the last twenty days are not enough.

“I say this because it is as if more than 50 Israeli soldiers killed are not enough.

“I say this because it is as if Hamas had never killed 1,500 Israeli civilians in the Second Intifada – as if that were not enough.

“The Israeli victims are always declassified as footnotes on the pages of the conflict. As if they never existed. This is how anti-Semitism and Western hypocrisy have reversed the roles of the two sides, overshadowing everything, and turning Israel into the executioner and depicting the terrorists as the resisters.

“In short, they have made terrorism a human right.

“Meanwhile, violent and hateful anti-Israeli demonstrations are held in all the cities of Europe, where we are witnessing attacks on Jewish centers, parliamentary questions, titles and images on the front page of newspapers and news programs. It is a campaign to isolate the Jews and Israel, to denigrate them, to abandon them to their fate. Anti-Semitism is rampant.

“The truth is that in Gaza there have been a thousand deaths, tragic deaths, in a war begun by Gazans. Many kibbutzim along the border have become ghost towns. For a day, international flights to Tel Aviv were discontinued. It is the first time since the Gulf War, that time when Israel was targeted by the rockets of Saddam Hussein and the Jews wore gas masks.

“It has been almost a taste of what Hamas and Islamists mean when they evoke the throwing of Jews into the sea. Their threat of extermination is now a promise.

“The truth is that Israel, a country large as New Jersey and whose inhabitants amount to one-thousandth of the world’s population, is the only democracy in the world under a permanent terrorist siege.

“The truth is that Israel’s army is the only in the world which warns its enemies before hitting a target.

“But this has yet to find a place in the media. Because the purpose of media disinformation is to give the impression that Israel is unjust, immoral, cruel.

“A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu, receiving English ministers, rightly said that Israel is like England in 1940, when the German V2s destroyed large areas of London and the population went into the Underground to hide. Israel, like England then, is forced to defend itself. No other country would tolerate a terrorist entity, with such a racist ideology, which launches rockets every day on its civilian population.

“A movement that has promised not to leave “one Jew in Palestine”. A movement that shoots missiles from UN schools, hospitals, mosques, cemeteries, kindergartens. A movement that uses the cement donated by Israel not to build schools, but to fortify the tunnels of death.

“Israel’s greatest success in seventy years of independence is survival, just being on the map. The Western world should be concerned about the fate of the little Israel, the most endangered member of our civilization.

“The flag with the Star of David is the pledge of our freedom.

“I hope, tonight, that the Jews no longer feel so alone.

“Viva Israel!”

NETANYAHU: “WE WON’T STOP UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!”
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened a special security cabinet session Thursday morning to address the IDF’s ongoing Operation Protective Edge.

“The IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip with full strength” until the job is done, the Prime Minister said – and not before.

In particular, Netanyahu said that IDF forces had succeeded in destroying dozens of “terror tunnels” dug by Hamas into Israel, noting that the terrorist group was likely planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians.

He said that he was confident that the IDF could shut down Hamas’s tunnel network and emphasized that even were a ceasefire to be reached Israel would continue to destroy the tunnels.

“Until now, we have destroyed dozens of terror tunnels and we are determined to complete the mission with or without a ceasefire. I will not agree to any proposal that does not allow for this.”

The Prime Minister claimed Hamas had suffered serious damage in the fighting, with hundreds of fighters killed and hundreds more military positions, rocket launchers and weapons stockpiles destroyed. Several senior Hamas commanders have also been killed or captured.

The current military operation is “only the first phase in the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu added, saying that he had communicated that message clearly to American, European and other international leaders.

He also praised the soldiers of the IDF, as well as Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon for their “extraordinary” efforts during the operation, and assured the Israeli public that the government was working “day and night” to secure the citizens of Israel.

“We have a plan and we are working in accordance with it,” he said.

For its part, Netanyahu appealed to the Israeli public to maintain national unity. That unity, he said “allows us to conduct the campaign in a balanced and responsible way. Unity gives our soldiers strength,” warning extremists “on both sides” not to sabotage it.

He went on to criticize ministers who had attacked the government’s conduct of the operation, saying that “government ministers should be setting a personal example to the entire nation” by unconditionally standing behind the war effort.

“The more united we are, the stronger we are.”

THE BETRAYAL OF ISRAEL BY JOHN KERRY
by Liberty Counsel

As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flounders in his efforts to negotiate a cease-fire between our ally Israel and the terror group Hamas, one conservative media outlet has offered a harsh critique of America’s top diplomat. Breitbart’s Ben Shapiro writes:

“Secretary of State John Kerry has long been considered an integral part of President Obama’s foreign policy team. And for just as long, he has been an anti-Israel advocate par excellence, an opponent of the Jewish State’s right to defend itself, a man dedicated to pressuring our only ally in the Middle East to concede to terror.”

Shapiro added that it was “no surprise” that Kerry’s latest cease-fire proposal was “so unacceptable” that it was rejected by Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. The Breitbart senior editor-at-large then goes into great detail, listing “Kerry’s top seven other anti-Israel moments.”

They include openly criticizing Israeli military operations last week on a “hot” mic before an interview with FOX News; threatening boycotts; threatening a third intifada; calling Israel an “apartheid state”; pushing for Israel to return to pre-1967 borders; his State Department rejecting a requirement that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state; and, finally, calling Israeli concerns over the recent Iranian nuclear deal “inaccurate, exaggerated, and not based on reality.”

HOSTILE OBAMA TRIES TO FORCE NETANYAHU TO ACCEPT TRUCE
by Ari Soffer (IsraelNationalNews)

US president markedly unfriendly, interrupted Prime Minister as he attempted to push unfavorable truce on Israel.

Damning evidence has emerged of US President Barack Obama’s dismissal of Israel’s position in favor of supporting the position of Hamas and its allies during ceasefire talks.

A “senior US official” leaked an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Channel One. In it the 35-minute conversation, which took place on Sunday, the US President appears downright hostile at points, and even cuts off Netanyahu in the middle of his protestations over a one-sided truce proposal which would have seen Hamas receive all its key demands, but that Israel ultimately rejected.

The following is an excerpt of the conversation, published in Hebrew by Channel One:

Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities – particularly airstrikes.

Netanyahu: What will Israel receive in return for a ceasefire?

Obama: I believe that Hamas will stop firing rockets – silence will be met with silence.

Netanyahu: Hamas violated all five previous ceasefires, it is a terrorist organization which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Obama: I repeat and expect Israel to unilaterally stop all its military activity. The pictures of destruction from Gaza distance the world from Israel’s position.

Netanyahu: Kerry’s proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas the military and diplomatic advantage.

Obama: Within a week of the end of Israel’s military activities, Qatar and Turkey will begin negotiations with Hamas on the basis of the 2012 understanding [following the end of Operation Pillar of Defense – ed.], including Israel’s commitment to removing the siege and restrictions on Gaza,

Netanyahu: Qatar and Turkey are the biggest supporters of Hamas. It is impossible to rely on them to be fair mediators.

Obama: I trust Qatar and Turkey, and Israel is in no position to choose its mediators.

Netanyahu: I object, because Hamas is able to continue and to fire rockets and to use tunnels for terror attacks…

Obama – interrupts Netanyahu mid-sentence: The ball is in Israel’s court – it is obligated to end all military activities.

The Channel One journalist who received the tape emphasized that at other points during the conversation there were more “positive” words exchanged between the two, such as Obama repeating America’s commitment to Israel’s security.

But those words will ring hollow to Israelis, considering that the proposal put together by John Kerry, Qatar and Turkey did not address a single one of Israel’s demands and – as alluded to by Obama himself – relied on little more than the goodwill of Hamas to stop firing rockets. This, despite the group (which the US itself lists as a terrorist organization) being unabashedly committed to the destruction of the State of Israel and the genocide of all Israeli Jews.

For his part, earlier on Tuesday John Kerry claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu had in fact approached him to ask him to help hammer out a ceasefire deal, after previous truce proposals were rejected by Hamas.

If that was indeed the case what resulted could hardly have been what Netanyahu had in mind: a joint initiative with two states overtly hostile towards Israel, concluding in a draft proposal which would have granted Hamas all of its key conditions – including the opening of air and sea ports and the total lifting on Israel’s security blockade – but which addressed Israel’s “security concerns” in only the vaguest possible terms.

BENNETT: DEMILITARIZE HAMAS, BY FORCE IF NECESSARY
by Gil Ronen (Arutz Sheva News)

Jewish Home Chairman, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, said Tuesday that the goal of the current campaign in Gaza must not be limited to elimination of the terror tunnels, and must include a clear military decision that leaves Hamas defeated and disarmed.

“Only a decisive victory will prevent the next war,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Radical Islam seeks to erase the Jewish state from the face of the earth,” he explained. “They do not seek a strip of land or a Palestinian state. Only our annihilation. Khamenei in Iran. Nasrallah in Lebanon. Haniyeh in Gaza. Meshaal in Qatar. All of the jihadist arms that are waiting to see how we respond.

“The world watches from the sidelines, apathetic, even pointing its finger and moralizing, without understanding that this is all coming to them very soon. Providing theoretical justification for our right to self defense but denouncing, in practice, our realization of that right.”

The tunnels, Bennett opined, are not the root of the problem. The root is “our enemies’ belief that they can win. That if they do not relent in their struggle, we will be worn out and run away from here. This hope must be uprooted. And it can be. By force.”

Applying a similar line of thought in his analysis of the Israeli side, Bennett determined that the central strategic surprise in Protective Edge has not been Iron Dome, but the awakening spirit and cohesiveness of the Israeli nation. “Something is happening in the Nation of Israel,” he wrote. “30,000 attend the funeral of a lone soldier. Wounded soldiers struggle to return to the field of battle. Reserve units reach 130% enlistment. The public throngs at the doors of the hospital wards, offering sweets and love to the wounded. The junctions are filled with flags and wonderful youth. The current generation of fighters and commanders is displaying its courageous and professional colors. Bereaved parents catch you by the arm and say: ‘not in vain. Onward to decisive victory’.

“The nation of Israel is united as it never was.”

Bennett’s prescription? Give the IDF clear instructions to turn Gaza into a place where there are no missiles, no tunnels. Like Judea and Samaria. “Do not let up, do not stop, until you reach this target – by force or by agreement. Hit Hamas mercilessly. Day and night. On weekdays and holidays. Without stopping or resting. Until the battle is decided.

“The state of Israel is at a peak moment,” he continued. “Hamas has been hit hard. Iron Dome works. The IDF’s combat soldiers and commanders are at peak motivation and professionalism. Hamas is isolated. The home front is strong, the nation of Israel is united. This is the moment.”

The world “respects a nation that protects its citizens,” he added. If foreign leaders ask us to stop, advises Bennett, they should be asked politely if they are willing to fight Hamas in place of Israel, then told: “Oh, you aren’t? Then please make way for us to do it, until we finish the job.”

The terror tunnels must be destroyed completely, Bennett stated, not just limited in scope, even if this means staying inside Gaza for another month, or receiving permanent freedom to operate inside Gaza when necessary. But most important for ending the tunnel threat, the reserve officer in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando stressed – is a clear victory against Hamas, which would prevent the next war.

Bennett finished by saying that he is lobbying with all his might to advance this line of thought in all possible forums, and that he believes that the Security-Diplomacy Cabinet, of which he is a part – and which is headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – will adopt this outlook.

HAMAS – ISRAEL HAS REACHED ONLY A FRACTION OF OUR TUNNELS
By JPOST.COM STAFF

US intelligence source claims Hamas has many more tunnels than Israel says

Israel has reached “only a fraction” of Hamas’s tunnels, Mushir al-Masri , a spokesman for the organization stated in an interview translated by MEMRI and made public on Monday.

Masri was referring to the network of tunnels which Hamas has dug under the Gaza-Israel border in order to infiltrate Jewish communities and perpetuate terrorist attacks.

“We are convinced that our people are on the brink of liberation,” Masri said.

He continued by saying, “The Zionist enemy declared its ground war to destroy the tunnels but [we], the thousands of mujahideen from the al-Kassam Brigades (Hamas military wing) who dug these tunnels with their fingernails say that the Zionist enemy has reached only a fraction of these tunnels – [and we] will dig many more God willing.”

Regarding the heavy toll inflicted on Hamas and the Gaza Strip so far by the fighting, Masri claimed, “Even while the battle is being waged, the resistance is recuperating its military losses.”

According to an IDF source, Hamas built the network of tunnels that begin a few kilometers away from the Israeli border, and pass under the frontier, in a bid to enable dozens of terrorists to infiltrate the country.

In response, the IDF has used a wide array of firepower and ground units to tackle the challenge of locating and destroying many terror tunnels.

“Hamas has turned tunneling into a national profession. They lean on highly skilled engineers to do this. We’re dealing with all of these threats through close-range combat,” the source added.

The IDF and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office have said that the purpose of Operation Protective Edge and the ground offensive in Gaza is to destroy terror tunnels and seriously harm the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza.

Earlier in July, Hamas terrorists attempted a massive attack when 13 terrorists infiltrated into Israel through a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa, but were discovered by the IDF and repelled or killed. The incident preempted the government’s decision to send troops into Gaza and commence the ground incursion.

BENNETT: GAZA OPERATION A “HISTORIC MOMENT” FOR ISRAEL
by Ido Ben-Porat, Tova Dvorin (IsraelNationalNews)

Economics Minister and Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett noted the success, so far, of Operation Protective Edge on Sunday, in a Facebook post entitled “Historic Crossroads: Now is the Time to Decide.”

“The State of Israel is at a historic, deciding moment,” Bennett began. “It could decide to end Hamas, dismantle tunnels and disarm missiles – to bring Gaza to a state similar to Judea and Samaria, which is without missiles, launchers, rockets, and tunnels. To put the IDF in control and prevent terror from escalating. It can finish with the conflict between the South and Gaza once and for all.”

“We can prove to our enemies, our neighbors, to the world and to ourselves, that we can overcome Islamic terrorism,” he continued. “For the first time in years, it’s within reach.”

Bennett presented an analysis of the situation, saying that “after three weeks of heavy fighting, this is the situation:”

Hamas has been severely beaten, but not eliminated.

IDF soldiers have “removed the rust” and are highly competent.

The world understands that we have no choice but to fight for our homeland.

The Jewish people have united like it hasn’t in years.

The Front is solid; the Iron Dome, this time, works almost perfectly.”

Bennett then urged Israel not to succumb to international pressure for a cease-fire.

“Hamas is desperate for re-armament, refreshing its forces and realignment so it can harm our troops,” he said. “This is similar to a boxing match, when the other side falls to the floor.”

“To cease fire now is to reach out to the enemy, pick him up, give him a drink, and refresh him,” he continued. “Now, now, we must not remove our foot from the gas pedal; we must finish this.”

“Israel’s targets: demilitarizing Hamas of its rockets and terror tunnels in a controlled, effective manner,” he added. “The goal: to make Gaza like Judea and Samaria.”

He also proposed economic incentives to ease the demilitarization process – what he called a “Gazan Marshall Plan” – “because we have no interest in harming the people of Gaza.”

“No ceasefires, no surrenders, no discussions,” he concluded. “You have our phone number; when you’re ready for demilitarization, call us. Otherwise, we are moving forward.”

“Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah is looking, Iran is looking, ISIS is looking, the Arab world is looking, the Europeans and Americans are looking – everyone is waiting to see whether Israel will work up the courage to defeat Hamas once and for all.”

“I believe our Security Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, will make the right decision. Now is the time.”

HAMAS ASKS FOR ANOTHER “HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE”
by Shlomo Pitrikovsky (Arutz Sheva News)

Hamas has allegedly changed its mind about rejecting a “humanitarian ceasefire” with Israel, according to several reports, and have turned to United Nations (UN) envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry to ask for an additional 24-hour truce, beginning at 2:00 pm.

“In response to the UN’s intervention request to monitor the situation… it has been agreed between the resistance factions that a 24-hour humanitarian truce will start from 2:00 pm (1100 GMT),” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

The Political-Security Cabinet is currently meeting on the issue, according to Channel 2.

Hamas’s request surfaces just hours after Israel retaliated for more rocket fire on Israel, after at least eleven rockets were fired at major Israeli cities between 8:00 am and 9:30 am.

Hamas fired at least eleven rockets on Israel Sunday morning, despite Israel’s announcement late Saturday that it would extend a humanitarian ceasefire called on Saturday until Sunday at 9:00 pm.

Several rockets were shot down over Petah Tikva, Ashdod, and Gan Yavne by the Iron Dome missile defense system; shrapnel was scattered over the greater Petah Tikva area. One motorcyclist was injured as he tried to pull to the side of the road during an air raid siren in the Sharon-area city.

At least five rockets also fell in open area in the South; one car was damaged, but no injuries were reported.

To propose the ceasefire, Hamas has allegedly agreed to retract its own demands for a truce, including withdrawing IDF troops from Gaza.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared on Wednesday that Israel must accept his list of unprecedented conditions for a ceasefire in order for any truce to be implemented. Many of the demands include, effectively, lifting all travel and import restrictions in Gaza and re-releasing arrested terrorists.

The IDF halted fire for several hours early in the operation in a humanitarian ceasefire, but Hamas took advantage of this and continued to attack Israel.

LEADING RABBI: THIS WAR IS GOD’S WAR, AND ISRAEL WILL WIN!
by Benny Toker (IsraelNationalNews)

Chairman of the Bnei Akiva Yeshivas and head of Yeshivat Or Etzion, Rabbi Haim Druckman, gave a special blessing to troops serving in Operation Protective Edge in an interview with Arutz Sheva on Friday.

Rabbi Druckman referred to the concept of “milchemet mitzvah,” whereby certain wars are Torah-mandated for men to serve – such as to defend the Jewish people from attack.

“Our soldiers are fighting God’s War,” he said. “This war determines our very existence in this country.”

“This war is for real peace, as told about in Isaiah: ‘And your peers shall have swords … and no nation shall lift up a sword against your nation, which is not knowing another war.’,” he added.

”Israel does not strive for another war, for deaths; each Iron Dome cost a fortune – who needs it?” he continued. “But there is evil in the world and we must fight that evil.”

Rabbi Druckman had no doubt who will win this war, as Operation Protective Edge enters its eighteenth day.

“Our ancestors fought, Abraham fought, Moses fought,” he reassured. “Our aspirations are indeed that ‘the wolf will live with the lamb’ [citing the verse in Isaiah about the Messianic era – ed.] but if the sheep does not deal with the wolf, nothing will be left of the sheep.”

“This is a holy war by all accounts, a war of salvation and for the existence of Israel in its homeland,” he said.

Rabbi Druckman believes that the tremendous show of unity among the people of Israel in recent times is the proof of the greatness of Israel.

“You see, at funerals of individual soldiers, tens of thousands of people – where else is there such a world?” he reflected. “Individuals who are not close relatives and friends arrive.”

“These enemies of Israel – with God’s help we will overcome them, as we have overcome [our enemies in] all of Israel’s wars,” he concluded.

AN ARAB PASTOR SPEAKS OUT ON GAZA
by David Lazarus (Israel Today News)

The following is an open letter from Shmuel Aweida to all those “peace activists” rising up against Israel. Listen carefully, Awieda is an Israeli Arab Christian pastor who knows of what he speaks!

Dear so-called “peace-seeking people”, “pro-ceasefire people” and “peace and reconciliation activists”,

Forgive me for not taking your nice dreams and peace demonstrations and wishes so seriously… People who didn’t care about the suffering people in Gaza under the Hamas regime for years can’t really be considered morally superior to any IDF soldier that’s on the ground there now. You might seem to be better and kinder, but not really… Sorry…

If you really care, then free Gaza from Hamas and other Islamic jihadist organizations! How can you feel sorry for the innocent children hurt accidentally by Israel when you don’t care that the same children grow up to learn to hate intentionally? You claim to feel sorry for the hungry children while ignoring the poison they are fed every single day at Hamas and Fatah schools and on TV.

How can you feel sorry for the women crying now when you didn’t care that they’ve been humiliated, discriminated and even raped and killed regularly for years?

Here’s another thing I don’t get:

These kind, sympathetic, peace-loving people who automatically want and pray for a ceasefire in Israel’s war(s) against the evil, anti-Semitic, anti-human, blood-thirsty terrorist organizations like Hamas (not against the Palestinians) – they make Israel never finish “the job” and then on the top of it all, their governments and NGOs send billions of dollars of “aid” to this corrupt evil system.

And guess what happens time and again – instead of feeding the hungry with food, they feed themselves with weapons. Instead of teaching the children math, they teach them hate and jihad against the Jews. Instead of building houses and hospitals above the ground, they build terror-tunnels under the ground.

The tunnels found in the past days have cost hundreds of millions of US dollars to build! The IDF blew up millions of your money, dear nice people in the naive West!

I’m not saying that Israel is without any fault here, but sometimes I really wonder if the Palestinians’ best friends are in reality the ones that maintain their oppression under this Islamic regime?

I simply don’t get it! Someone here needs to get a better grasp of reality!

As much as I hate this war and the price that’s being paid by our dear soldiers and the innocent civilians on both sides, I hate the fact that it’s necessary! May the needed pain of war bear good fruit of peace for all! May the Lord of Hosts and Armies give us His Shalom!

There has been quite a lot of activity in the social media in the past month. I was disappointed and frustrated of some my Facebook friends and the level of naiveté and blindness with regard to the real situation and the roots of the conflicting the Middle East.

Do they really not see what the Hamas is all about or what Islam really is? Are they all so blind to what’s happening around us in Syria, Iraq and all over? Don’t they see what Hamas is doing to the poor population that lives under this terror daily? I don’t know why I keep being surprised…

To my anti-Arab friends:

But what really surprised me was that, with regard to this operation in Gaza, the hatred, revenge and racism that filled the [Facebook] statuses of those who support Israel.

They expressed such joy over going to war and causing destruction (a joy I’m glad our leadership doesn’t have). The fact they quoted Bible verses didn’t make it any less stinking. So I threw those people out of my Facebook just like I did with others that posted pornography and other disgusting stuff. Trash is trash is trash.

Praying that God may protect our soldiers who are serving us and giving their lives for us – proud of the moral code of the IDF and the legitimacy of this necessary operation. Praying for those making the tough decisions – but with much more humility.

I guess we need to pray that we’ll all guard our hearts from hatred, revenge, racism, pride and other destructive things that do not honor us, nor the God of Israel.