Hamas Rejects Egyptian Proposal for Ceasefire, and Now It's Time to Finish Them

  RedState

"While Hamas and those it rules over continue to play the victim on the world stage, they are doing nothing to bring about a realistic end to the war. Following the October 7th attacks on Israel, which killed around 1,400 people and resulted in hundreds of hostages being taken, the terrorist government of Gaza has continued to ensure further death and destruction, including breaking a temporary ceasefire in late November.

"That theme continued on Christmas Day after it was revealed that Hamas had rejected a ceasefire proposal brokered not by Israel, but by Egypt, a nation that has offered support for Gaza in the past. 

"This plays into something I've mentioned before, which is that the "Palestinians" want to have it both ways. On the one hand, they pretend to be oppressed victims who just want a peaceful utopia, a claim that is often repeated by intellectuals within Western circles. On the other hand, they refuse to make the slightest concession, even in the face of utter defeat, that would ensure some level of peace. How many deals over the years have various Palestinian leaders rejected that would have produced a two-state solution? How many ceasefires have they broken for no other reason than to continue their delusional intifada? 

"Yet, most of the international community hand-waves all that away, pretending that it's Israel that is the biggest stumbling block to peace. It's not Israel that's running United Nations schools in Gaza teaching kids to be terrorists and to hate Jews. It's not Israel that's hijacking billions of dollars in aid to build useless terror tunnels while funneling the rest of that money to wealthy leaders in Qatar. Hamas is not a viable peace partner and never has been. If they don't step aside and allow new leadership, there can be no end to the hostilities. How quickly would this have all ended had the international community stood up and demanded Hamas surrender following the October 7th attacks, with a threat to cut off aid if it didn't do so? How many lives would have been saved? Instead, we got immediate denouncements of Israel and truckloads of aid driving into Gaza, almost all of which is being stolen by Hamas to keep the war going. It's one of the most asinine situations I've ever seen. 

"And all the while, the Palestinians are still infantilized as if they haven't brought most of this on themselves. With a rejection of peace should come a fresh resolve from Israel to finish Hamas. There is no other option at this point. The international community is going to kick and scream no matter what, so Israel might as well accomplish its goal while they do." 

(See: Hamas Shoots at Its Own Civilians, Killing Boy; Crowds Riot and Burn Police Station)

Secretary of State Blinken, a reliably leftist hack, goes off-script about Hamas

Andrea Widburg- American Thinker  "Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been a reliably left-leaning mouthpiece for the Biden administration on every issue, including the administration’s fatuous, anti-Israel demands for a two-state solution. I neither like nor respect him. However, in the “credit where credit is due” department, Blinken deserves props for saying something important: Namely, that a world that insistently demands that Israel surrender in this war does not make any such demands on Hamas.

"This video (transcription immediately below) shows Blinken tacitly acknowledging that, were Hamas to lay down its arms, Israel would stop fighting, and she most certainly would not go on a genocidal rampage through Gaza. Despite this, he says that all calls for a ceasefire are directed at Israel alone. No one in the world asks Hamas to stop fighting or to stop engaging in genocidal attacks against Israel:" . . .

US Secretary of State Blinken: "What is striking to me is that even as we hear many countries urging an end to this conflict, I hear virtually no one demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if… pic.twitter.com/UhxQrEbWUW

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 20, 2023

"To those who say that Hamas is merely fighting back and that Israel is the aggressor—meaning that Israel must stop in order for Hamas to stop—it’s worth noting what no American media is reporting: Hamas has an endless supply of rockets which it rains down non-stop on Israel’s civilian centers. Thus, while Israel goes out of its way to avoid Gazan civilian casualties and to engage only with the well-armed Hamas militia, Hamas, in turn, does everything it can to kill Israeli civilians.

"As for Blinken, perhaps this rare moment of good sense and compassion may be tied to his stepfather. Blinken has often explained that he cannot be anti-Israel because his father survived the Holocaust. This is obviously untrue, given Blinken’s support for the anti-Israel two-state solution.

"Still, maybe October 7 forced upon him an understanding of what his stepfather, Samuel Pisar, really experienced during WWII, beginning when Pisar was only 10 and ending with him escaping a death march when he was 16:

His parents and younger sister Frieda were murdered in the Holocaust. Pisar was sent to Majdanek, Bliżyn, Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Oranienburg, Dachau and ultimately to the Engelberg Tunnel near Leonberg. At the end of the war, he escaped during a death march; after making a break into the forest, he found refuge in a US tank. He is the only Holocaust survivor of the 900 children of his Polish school.

"It’s one thing, if you’re a child, to hear your mother’s second husband (who helped raise Blinken when the latter was still a child) talk about the Holocaust. It may be just background noise, especially if you don’t have much in the way of imagination or compassion beyond the narrow parameters of leftist demands. It’s another thing entirely to see a Holocaust unfold before your eyes. May Blinken’s eyes open much more in the coming weeks and months."

The Drumbeat for Joe Biden to Exit the Race Gets Louder

  PJ Media  

Such negative stories about Biden from the corporate press in an election year would be unprecedented under normal circumstances. However, an addled and failing 81-year-old man who may not make it four months, let alone four years, is an extraordinary circumstance. And when you add the mounting evidence of corruption among the Biden clan preparing to burst into public view, it is only a matter of time before someone will need to have a pointed conversation with whichever Biden is keeping Joe in the race.

 "If you are a Democrat and lose The Hill and NBC in a single day, it just might be time to take a hint. While President Joe Biden's inclination to cling to power does not seem to ebb, the drumbeat from the media for him to let go seems to be getting louder. Earlier today, PJ Media's Rick Moran asked when Democrats would dump Joe Biden as their nominee in 2024, noting some of the bad press. 

"But the chorus is just getting louder. Yesterday, The Hill took great pains to point out Biden's horrible approval rating. "President Biden’s year-end approval rating is worse than any other modern-day president seeking reelection’s has been at this point in the campaign cycle, a new survey found," began the report. 

"The outlet even pointedly conceded that President Trump garnered more approval at the same point. Trump's pre-COVID approval rating in late 2019 stood at 45%. That bested Barack Obama at the end of 2011. All other presidents since Jimmy Carter were above 50% approval at the end of the year before seeking reelection. Yes, even the man regarded by many as the most disastrous president in modern history, before Biden, scored 54% in late 1979.

"And while The Hill points out that voters' confidence in the economy is edging up slightly, concerns about foreign policy and national security remain. Then, as if on cue, NBC published a new report on how poorly the administration handled the appearance of a Chinese spy balloon in early 2023, reinforcing those concerns. 

"NBC reported that Biden knew about the Chinese spy balloon before it entered continental U.S. airspace. In fact, according to the report, current and former administration officials say that the White House hoped to conceal the balloon's presence. " . . .

Disgusting: Pro-Palestinians Activists Storm Stage During Christmas Fundraiser for Blind Children

 In yet another act of self-indulgent virtue signaling by the Hamas-loving crowd, a Christmas charity event for blind children in Australia was ambushed by pro-Palestinian activists.

"Carols by Candlelight is the largest annual fundraiser for Vision Australia’s children’s services, which provides support to families and children who are blind or have low vision.

"A crowd of 10,000 gathered to enjoy the live broadcast, celebrate the Christmas holiday, and provide support for children in need.

"The event was disrupted, however, when pro-Palestine protesters stormed across the stage while children were performing and began ranting about Gaza and raising Palestinian flags.

"“Well, it is the climate, isn’t it?” a female host said.

"' It’s okay, everybody, we are actually fine here… Everyone’s allowed to have their… moment… It’s a very hard time in this world… There’s a lot of pain out there that people are experiencing,” another host said." . . .

This was at a Christmas Eve community fundraiser Australia for blind children.
It boggles the mind how so many co-opt Palestinian liberation to centre themselves and take away from other people in need.
This behaviour will not “free Palestine”, it’s just shameful. pic.twitter.com/P7bdbjYXYa

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) December 24, 2023

Colorado’s Christmas Gift to Trump -

  The American Spectator | USA News and Politics

The state's Supreme Court ruling confirms Trump's claim that Democrats are coming after his voters.

This is, of course, what Biden and the Democrats are desperately trying to avoid with legal gimmicks like disqualifying Trump from appearing on state ballots. They know that, if they are forced to campaign on real issues rather than the ridiculous “Trump is Hitler” narrative, Biden will lose. 

"Colorado is generally regarded as a blue state, but it is home  to many Republicans. In the last presidential election, nearly 1.4 million voters cast ballots for then-President Trump. Yet the state Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that strips them of their right to do so again. Four of the court’s seven Democrat-appointed justices found that Trump’s role in the fabled Jan. 6 “insurrection” disqualifies him from appearing on Colorado’s ballot. This ruling earned them the wrath of the former President’s supporters and the derision of all but a few hyper-partisan constitutional scholars. Nor will it survive the inevitable appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the decision has added credibility to Trump’s claim that he is the target of a corrupt campaign by far left Democrats to destroy him politically and personally. It does indeed follow a pattern of persecution that began with the Russia collusion hoax, two meritless impeachments, and continues with several legally dubious prosecutions. Moreover, because the ruling disfranchises about 42 percent of Colorado’s voters, it also confirms another refrain to which Trump often returns when addressing his supporters: “They’re coming after you. I’m just in the way.” It seems that even the corporate media grasp that the ruling was ill-conceived. The editors of the Washington Post, for example, have misgivings:

"Not only has Mr. Trump not been convicted of insurrection either by a jury of his peers or from the bench by a judge; he hasn’t even been charged with it. Tellingly, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has brought an aggressive case against the former president for conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding and more — but not for violating the federal law against insurrection … Disqualifying a candidate based on an accusation, albeit one blessed by a state court judge as in the Colorado case — but not an actual conviction — is dangerous.

"And the editors of the Post are by no means alone in this assessment. Mark Barabak writes in the Los Angeles Times, “Assuming Trump is the GOP nominee, Democrats will have to beat him at the ballot box, as they should. A courtroom is no place to decide a presidential election.” Jonathan Chait echoes this point in New York Magazine: “To deny the voters the chance to elect the candidate of their choice is a Rubicon-crossing event for the judiciary. It would be seen forever by tens of millions of Americans as a negation of democracy.” Even the editors of the Guardian, not exactly a MAGA stronghold, understand that Trump’s fate must be decided by voters rather than state courts: “He must be beaten at the ballot box again.”

"Nonetheless, the Colorado court insisted on stuffing a new issue into Trump’s Christmas stocking. As former Obama advisor David Axelrod put it on X (née Twitter), “All the legal challenges that have been thrown at Trump have so far helped strengthen him … CO will be the same.” Moreover, the ruling destroys a key Biden talking point. He can hardly claim that Trump must be defeated to save democracy when his own party is actively disfranchising voters. A database maintained by Lawfare shows 16 more states in which Democrat surrogates are trying to remove Trump from the ballot. Thus, Yale law professor Samuel Moyn argues in the New York Times that the Supreme Court should reverse the Colorado ruling:" . . .

VIDEO: ‘Malarky’—the saga of Joe Biden and Corn Pop

 Andrea Widburg - American Thinker   "Sometimes, the people at the Babylon Bee outdo even themselves. In this case, the Babylon Bee has resurrected Biden’s claim that his insult about a “dog-faced pony soldier” came from a movie he once saw. With JP Sears providing some introductory commentary, the Babylon Bee put together an entire “movie trailer” set in a 19th-century Western town. The premise? “Pa” is called upon to bring down Corn Pop, the famous “bad dude.” Then, for the next two and half minutes, he speaks using only Joe Biden’s words.

The only thing that’s sad about the video is that it co-stars Siaka Massaquoi, and thinking about him is depressing. That’s because, as you may recall, the FBI recently made a big deal of arresting Massaquoi for four misdemeanor counts of “parading” and “trespassing” on January 6. 

" This is the same FBI that’s done almost nothing about Antifa and BLM activists who unleashed unprecedented violence across America in 2020 when they burned down cities, engaged in mass looting, assaulted people, burned down a police station, and besieged a federal courthouse. Massaquoi’s presence is a reminder that, in Biden’s America, while Biden may be stupid and incoherent, he’s got a powerful “rule of law.” This “rule” is that his side is above the law, and everyone else is below the law.

" But aside from that depressing reality, this video is laugh-out-loud funny, and we should go into the Christmas holidays with joy.

" Merry Christmas!"

The herald angels aren't singing Christmas carols in Bethlehem this year

 Ethel C. Fenig- American Thinker

"Christians who follow the Gregorian calendar are celebrating Christmas today.  But not so much in Moslem-dominated Bethlehem.  Yes, Bethlehem, which Christians consider the birthplace of Jesus, located in Judea, Israel, just west of the Jordan River, is now over 80% Muslim. 

Despite the significance of Bethlehem to Christians and its high religious tourism from the faithful during the Advent season, the city is majority Muslim.

The Christian population of Bethlehem has been in steady decline since the mid-20th century.

In 1950, Christians made up over 80% of the local population but now hover around 10% in a Muslim-dominated region.

Many Christians have chosen to flee the area due to persecution and religious harassment.

"Oh.

"(Incidentally, all of Israel, all of Egypt, and all of Gaza are on the so called "West Bank" of the Jordan River in the same way that state of New Jersey is on the "West Bank" of the Hudson River while Manhattan and Brooklyn are on its "East Bank.") 

 Bethlehem is canceling Christmas:

The reason is the general situation in Palestine; people are not really into any celebration, they are sad, angry and upset; our people in Gaza are being massacred and killed in cold blood.

Therefore, it is not appropriate at all to have such festivities while there is a massacre happening in Gaza and attacks in the West Bank.

"Yeah, that will happen when "our people" slaughter over 1400 people at a music festival and adjacent villages in neighboring Israel and then Jewish and even Bedouin and Muslim Israelis, who were the innocent initial victims, fight back." . . .