Transcript [00:00] Everybody, so a few days ago I made a [00:01] video about Israel, what Israel's doing [00:04] in the Gaza Strip. I played a video of a [00:06] commander down in the Gaza Strip talking [00:08] about how they're destroying Hamas [00:10] infrastructure, they're moving the [00:11] lines, they're conquering more and more [00:13] of the Gaza Strip, and choking out [00:15] Hamas. [00:17] A lot of you liked that video. Got a lot [00:18] of good feedback on it. [00:20] And [00:22] I wanted to [00:23] to talk about more of what's going on [00:25] both diplomatically and you know you [00:27] know politically diplomatically [00:29] regarding the Gaza Strip right now, what [00:31] Hamas is up to over and there's been [00:33] some stuff happening over the last [00:35] couple of days that's that's been a [00:36] little bit under the radar cuz [00:37] everyone's still focused so much on Iran [00:39] and Lebanon. [00:41] And [00:42] and I also I I just want to raise an [00:43] issue that should have been obvious to [00:46] us which is a little bit curious. Which [00:48] is [00:49] this interview that I that I showed you [00:51] in that video the other day with this [00:53] commander in Gaza explaining exactly [00:55] what Israel's doing and how they're [00:56] taking more and more of the territory [00:57] and choking out Hamas. [01:00] Understand this was obviously an [01:01] approved interview with an IDF [01:03] commander. [01:05] And Prime Minister Netanyahu who [01:06] recently said and he has said it more [01:08] than once that he's instructed the IDF [01:11] to take control of more and more of the [01:12] Gaza Strip up to 70% of it. [01:15] Think about the fact that he made that [01:16] public. He wanted the world to know [01:18] that. Israel's being very bold and very [01:20] open about the fact that they are taking [01:23] over more and more of the Gaza Strip in [01:25] an effort to get rid of Hamas. [01:27] I want to talk about these issues and [01:29] some of the other things that we're [01:30] seeing. Let's start with this headline [01:32] from a few days ago. Smotrich says plans [01:35] drawn up to establish three Israeli [01:37] settlements in Gaza. Finance Minister [01:40] Bezalel Smotrich said Monday, that's [01:42] this week this past Monday, that Israel [01:44] has prepared plans to establish three [01:45] settlements in the Gaza Strip and all [01:47] that is needed to move ahead with the [01:49] project is Prime Minister Benjamin [01:50] Netanyahu's approval. [01:53] His remarks came after he met with the [01:55] mayor of Sderot which is a [01:58] the biggest city in the Gaza envelope [02:00] area. [02:02] Smotrich said that the Israeli Defense [02:03] Forces should seize more than the 70% of [02:06] Gaza that it currently controls, and [02:07] that in his view, Jewish settlements in [02:09] Gaza will act as a security belt for [02:12] border communities in Israel. And we [02:14] also have this headline from a few days [02:16] ago, Israel said seeking to revive Gaza [02:18] migration plan, rebranding it in bid to [02:22] soften international opposition. Israel [02:23] is seeking to revive its more about plan [02:26] for the voluntary migration of Gazans [02:28] out of the strip, and has rebranded it [02:31] an effort to soften the blanket [02:33] international opposition to it, a [02:35] Channel 13 news reports, citing unnamed [02:37] Israeli officials. Security agencies [02:39] have in recent days been told to abandon [02:42] the voluntary migration title [02:45] due to the global due to global [02:46] opposition, and it will from now on be [02:48] officially referred to as a plan for [02:50] free movement. [02:52] The network sites officials familiar [02:54] with [02:55] ties with countries that could [02:57] potentially receive Gazans as voicing [02:59] optimism that the terminology change [03:03] will persuade them to drop their current [03:05] refusal to cooperate with the plan. [03:08] Um and it'll be make it easier to [03:09] recruit other countries. [03:12] A senior Israeli official is quoted as [03:13] saying Jerusalem wants as many Gazans as [03:15] possible to leave the strip, viewing [03:17] this as as a contributing factor to any [03:19] future plan implemented in the [03:21] territory. So, Hamas is freaking out [03:23] over this. [03:25] Um and uh this is a headline from today. [03:29] W- W- First, let me comment on what [03:31] Smotrich is up to here. [03:33] Listen, [03:35] I'm all for settlements. I think that [03:37] putting some settlements in the Gaza [03:39] strip would be justice. [03:41] You can't just attack us, slaughter us, [03:44] celebrate when our hostages and our and [03:47] our raped women are paraded through your [03:49] streets. You can't just do all that and [03:52] then not lose territory. [03:54] Okay? When you get when you get [03:56] attacked, you lose territory. That's all [03:58] fair game. [03:59] Besides the [snorts] fact that Israel is [04:03] is within its rights. And I'm going to [04:05] get to that a little bit later in the [04:06] video about why it's totally legal for [04:08] Israel to build settlements there. [04:10] Um also security tends to improve when [04:12] there's settlements. I think it's the [04:13] right thing to do. [04:15] That said, it's not going to happen. [04:17] Smotrich knows it's not going to happen. [04:19] He knows the political climate does not [04:21] allow it to happen. So why is he doing [04:23] this? He's doing this because of the [04:25] elections that are coming up. There's [04:26] going to be an election in Israel in [04:28] October. Everyone's already ramping up [04:31] their campaigns. The rhetoric is turning [04:33] to kind of election campaign rhetoric. [04:35] Smotrich's party is struggling right [04:37] now. They are you know, the way it works [04:39] in Israel is you have to get uh enough [04:42] of a percentage of the vote to garner [04:44] four seats in the Knesset in order to [04:46] That's the threshold to get in. And if [04:48] you you fall below that threshold, you [04:49] don't get anything. And his party has [04:51] been on the on the borderline between [04:53] four you know, right around four seats, [04:55] maybe five in the good polls. So he's [04:58] struggling and he's trying to [04:59] differentiate himself from the Likud, [05:02] from Netanyahu's party, and from [05:04] Ben-Gvir's party, the other uh the other [05:07] very right-wing party. [05:09] And by zeroing in on the settlement [05:11] issue because he has done admit It's [05:14] true. The Smotrich and his party have [05:16] done more have done a tremendous amount [05:19] for the expansion and growth of [05:21] settlements throughout Judea and [05:22] Samaria. So he's leaning into that and [05:24] he's signaling to you know, to potential [05:26] voters who might vote Likud or might [05:28] vote Ben-Gvir, "Hey, if you really care [05:29] about about settling the land and about [05:32] these types of issues, then I'm your [05:34] man." And that's that's why he's doing [05:36] it. He knows it has no chance of [05:38] actually happening. So it's really just [05:39] political posturing. That said, [05:42] um there's also the there's the there's [05:45] the uh the migration plan that we just [05:48] read about. That is real. So, this is a [05:50] story from today from Middle East [05:51] Monitor, very anti-Israel site, Middle [05:54] East site. Uh [05:56] this is July 2nd. It's It's from today. [05:58] Hamas has called on the Arab League to [06:00] convene an emergency summit to address [06:03] what it describes as Israel's plans to [06:05] displace Palestinians from the Gaza [06:06] Strip, urging Arab states to adopt a [06:08] unified political response. In a [06:11] statement issued on Wednesday, [06:12] yesterday, Hamas spokesperson Hazem [06:15] Qassem said Israeli statements about [06:17] proposals concerning Gaza's population [06:19] reflected what he described as the [06:21] seriousness of efforts to displace [06:23] Palestinians from the territory. Qassem [06:25] argued that these plans are accompanied [06:27] by military actions that in his view are [06:29] destroying the conditions necessary for [06:31] civilian life and forcing residents to [06:33] leave the strip. Israel's military [06:35] actions are destroying Hamas. They're [06:38] not destroying the conditions for [06:39] civilian life. He called on the Arab [06:41] League to hold an emergency summit to [06:43] coordinate a collective response. [06:45] According to Qassem, the issue extends [06:47] beyond the Palestinian territories and [06:48] poses a broader challenge to Arab [06:50] national security. He said any [06:52] displacement of Palestinians from Gaza [06:54] would directly affect the security [06:56] interests of neighboring Arab states, [06:58] particularly Egypt. Now, why would it? [07:00] Why would a bunch of Gazans moving into [07:01] Egypt affect Egypt's security? Is it [07:04] perhaps cuz they're dangerous? [07:08] The Hamas spokesperson urged Arab [07:10] governments to move beyond statements of [07:12] condemnation and adopt what he described [07:14] as practical political and diplomatic [07:16] measures to prevent any displacement of [07:18] Gaza's population. [07:19] He also called for efforts to end the [07:21] war, halt Israeli military operations in [07:23] the Gaza Strip, and lift the blockade on [07:25] the territory. [07:28] Israel has repeatedly rejected [07:29] accusations that it's pursuing a policy [07:31] of forcibly displacing Gaza's population [07:34] while international discussions continue [07:36] over post-war governance and the future [07:38] administration of the territory. [07:41] And let's add this while we're at it. [07:44] Um [07:45] Hamas delegation [07:48] Look at this one. Hamas delegation in [07:50] Cairo to meet Egyptian officials [07:52] mediators on implementation of Gaza [07:54] deal. [07:56] This is [07:57] uh from from 2 days ago. A delegation of [08:00] Hamas is set to have talks in Cairo with [08:03] Egyptian officials and mediators on [08:05] implementing the Gaza ceasefire [08:07] agreement, the group said on Tuesday. [08:09] The delegation's agenda prioritizes [08:11] stopping escalating Israeli violations [08:13] in the Gaza Strip and the daily killing [08:15] and assassination crimes. You know who [08:17] they're assassinating? Hamas leaders. [08:21] Said Taher al-Nunu, political adviser [08:24] to the head of Hamas. Hamas would also [08:26] seek guarantees that Israel allows the [08:28] entry of Gaza's full needs, including [08:30] materials required to repair hospitals, [08:33] bakeries, and infrastructure, and [08:35] implements the remaining terms of the [08:36] Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, he added. [08:38] Now, this is really rich. Here's Hamas [08:43] saying that they want to implement the [08:45] agreement. [08:47] And and later on in this you know let's [08:49] go a little further. They talk about [08:50] moving to phase two. [08:52] Oh, that's not in this piece. [08:55] Yeah, the road map includes the entry of [08:57] an administrative committee and an [08:58] international protection force leading [09:00] to a full Israeli withdrawal in all [09:02] areas of the Gaza Strip. [09:04] It does call for that, but let's take a [09:06] look at the original agreement. [09:08] You know what else the original [09:09] agreement says? Here's clause 13. This [09:11] is the 20-point Trump plan for Gaza, [09:13] right? This is it. This is the big plan, [09:14] the famous plan. So, what does it say in [09:16] clause 13? Hamas and other factions [09:20] agree not to have any role in the [09:23] governance of Gaza directly, indirectly, [09:26] or in any form. [09:28] Should we read that again? Hamas is not [09:31] to have any role in the governance of [09:32] Gaza directly, indirectly, or in any [09:34] form. And And they are calling on the [09:36] Arab the Arab calling for an Arab [09:39] summit. And they're on their way to [09:41] Cairo to have negotiations about the [09:44] implementation. [09:45] Listen, implementation of the deal [09:48] the first step in that is removing Hamas [09:51] completely. Israel has to be very vocal [09:53] about this. [09:54] You know, being called out as violating [09:56] this or violating that. Hamas should not [09:59] have any standing whatsoever. What's [10:00] also interesting on a diplomatic on the [10:02] diplomatic front. [10:04] I wonder where this call by Hamas for a [10:07] summit of Arab leaders on Gaza is going [10:09] to go. [10:10] Because right now look at the Arab [10:12] world. You have the Gulf states who are [10:16] pretty much lining up alongside Israel [10:18] cuz their top priority is dealing with [10:19] the Iran issue. We just saw the summit [10:21] they had in Bahrain last week with [10:23] Secretary of State Rubio [10:25] where their big concern was the Iranian [10:27] proxies, ballistic missile programs, all [10:29] their destabilization of the region. [10:32] And you also have what's going on in [10:34] Lebanon that's occupying a lot of [10:35] people's attention. The the you know, [10:36] the Saudis are busy dealing with the [10:39] with the Houthis down in Yemen. [10:42] Is there enough bandwidth here? [10:48] >> [clears throat] [10:49] >> Excuse me. Is there enough bandwidth in [10:51] the Arab world to deal with Is there any [10:53] willingness or any desire to come to the [10:55] aid of Hamas right now in the Gaza [10:58] Strip? I mean even if they're going to [11:00] going to call an Arab summit. [11:03] Hamas is treating itself as the [11:05] legitimate leaders of the people of [11:07] Gaza. Now, if they are, so they have to [11:09] be removed. [11:11] If they're still there, they have to be [11:13] removed. Who do they speak for? [11:15] You know, we have this story. [11:17] Hamas maintains full control over Gaza [11:19] after deterring Palestinian protests. [11:21] This is just from a few days ago. Over [11:23] the past 2 weeks a campaign calling for [11:25] protests against Hamas last Friday was [11:28] circulated on social media. [11:30] The protests were supposed to focus on [11:31] the harsh living conditions in the Gaza [11:33] Strip and delays in advancing the second [11:35] phase of the US-brokered comprehensive [11:37] plan to end the Gaza conflict. [11:40] Hamas monitored the campaign and was [11:41] prepared for the protests. In [11:43] particular, it ramped up its deterrence [11:45] efforts such as publicizing the [11:46] executions [11:48] of people suspected of collaborating [11:50] with Israel. The terrorist organization [11:52] also launched a counter campaign calling [11:54] for protests against Israel and former [11:57] UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay [11:58] Mladenov, who's the head of the board of [12:01] peace, [12:02] uh over the failure of the talks he [12:04] mediated with Israel. Or he's the high [12:06] high commissioner, whatever. He has some [12:08] title. Mladenov, he's the head of the [12:09] whole thing. [12:11] Um Hamas pushed for the population to [12:13] hold demonstrations near the yellow [12:15] line, according to the IDF. [12:17] So, Hamas is struggling to to to keep [12:19] its hold over its population. [12:21] People uh uh wanted to protest that they [12:23] can't move to phase two. Of course, you [12:25] can't move to phase two because you [12:26] can't move to phase two until Hamas is [12:28] fully removed. Now, what else does it [12:30] say in this original plan? Look at Look [12:32] at item 12. No one will be forced to [12:34] leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave [12:37] will be free to do so. [12:40] Those who wish to leave will be free to [12:42] do so. You know, ever since the [12:43] beginning of the war, the Egyptians, who [12:45] are right there on the border with Gaza, [12:47] have closed their border and did not [12:49] allow [12:51] Gazans to flee this war zone. And [12:53] Article 14 of the of the uh what's it [12:56] called? The Universal Declaration of [12:57] Human Rights, [12:59] Article 14 states, "Everyone has the [13:01] right to seek and enjoy [13:03] in other countries asylum from [13:05] persecution." So, if Israel was starving [13:07] and genociding the you know, the Gazans, [13:10] why was Egypt let off the hook? How come [13:12] Egypt didn't have to open their borders [13:14] to allow these Gazans in to seek asylum [13:18] from this terrible persecution? [13:20] And what what's more, we have this [13:21] story. UNRWA has no has no place in new [13:24] Gaza. Hamas rebukes US peace council. [13:27] Cuz what happened was in the United [13:28] Nations [13:29] the the US administra- uh [13:32] the US I'm sorry, the US administration [13:35] uh [13:36] the board of peace declared that [13:40] uh [13:41] UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza, [13:43] because UNRWA, the United Nations Relief [13:45] Work Relief and Works Agency for [13:47] Palestine Refugees [13:49] uh turned out to really just be Hamas in [13:52] UN uniforms. Like uh we know that a lot [13:55] of a lot of senior Hamas people were [13:57] also employees [13:58] of uh not senior Hamas people. A lot of [14:01] employees of UNRWA were [14:03] had significant roles in Hamas. And uh [14:06] there were a lot of UNRWA uh uh there [14:09] were UNRWA employees who participated in [14:11] October 7th. The UNRWA schools or the [14:13] schools in Gaza that were in doc- you [14:16] know, that have been teaching [14:18] this uh [14:19] this genocidal [14:20] uh Hamas ideology all these years. Hamas [14:23] is UNRWA. And that's why they're [14:24] freaking out about the possibility that [14:26] UNRWA is going to go away. So, this [14:28] there's this is from today, this this [14:31] article here. [14:32] The Palestinian resistance movement [14:33] Hamas condemned on Thursday, today, [14:36] statements by the US administration's [14:37] board of peace declaring that UNRWA has [14:39] no place in Gaza. [14:41] The movement said targeting UNRWA [14:43] is an attack on international [14:45] legitimacy, because the agency was [14:46] established by the UN. Hamas warned that [14:48] attempts to reduce UNRWA's mandate and [14:50] replace it or halt its funding go beyond [14:52] humanitarian issues and are aimed at [14:54] undermining Palestinian historical [14:56] rights. [14:58] Yeah. [15:00] They're [15:01] They're terrified. So, let's put all [15:02] these stories together. [15:04] The United States and the board of peace [15:05] are saying UNRWA can't be a part of it. [15:08] Um [15:09] the deal itself that Israel that Israel [15:12] signed, that everyone signed, that is [15:13] supposed to be implemented, calls for [15:15] Hamas to be removed and have no [15:17] governing role, no no role in the [15:20] governance of Gaza directly or [15:22] indirectly, or in any form. [15:24] Israel, meanwhile, is saying, "Okay, if [15:25] no one's going to get rid of Hamas, [15:27] we're going to do it ourselves." [15:29] When it comes to settlements, I [15:31] mentioned earlier that the there's [15:32] nothing illegal about settlements. Let [15:33] me explain that. Let me explain that. [15:35] This has to do with the status of the [15:38] Gaza Strip in Judea and Samaria. It is [15:39] very com- [15:40] We commonly refer to these as occupied [15:43] areas, and people then talk about [15:46] settlements being illegal. Those two [15:47] terms go together. Let me explain how [15:49] they go together. [15:51] It is against international law that if [15:53] you occupy some- the territory of [15:55] another country illegally, you're not [15:57] allowed to move your population in [15:59] there. If you occupy the territory of [16:00] another country in war, [16:04] uh in a circumstance where you're not [16:05] allowed to keep it, you're not allowed [16:06] to move your population in there. Okay? [16:09] So, if it's occupied territory of [16:11] another nation, [16:13] then then settlements are illegal. So, [16:15] that the way the narrative goes is that [16:17] this is Palestinian land that Israel [16:19] occupies, and that's what makes it [16:20] illegal. Problem is, it's not occupied. [16:23] Why is it not occupied? And this is a [16:24] technical This is a technical thing. [16:27] It's not occupied because the only way [16:28] you can occupy territory of another [16:31] sovereign nation if it is if there is a [16:33] previous owner that is a sovereign [16:36] nation. [16:37] Both Judea and Samaria, known as the [16:39] West Bank, both Judea and Samaria and [16:41] the Gaza Strip, there is no sovereign [16:43] nation that lays any claim to it, and [16:45] that is a previous owner. Let me [16:47] explain. [16:49] Who owns the Gaza Strip right now? Well, [16:50] Israel occupies it. Israel controls it. [16:53] Okay, who controlled it before Israel? [16:55] Well, Israel took it in 1967. Before [16:57] Israel, Egypt held it from 1948 till [17:00] 1967. But Egypt did not annex it. They [17:03] did not make it part of Egypt. [17:05] So, they're they're not a There's no so- [17:08] They don't lay any claim to it. In fact, [17:10] in 1979, when Israel gave the Sinai back [17:13] to Egypt in the peace deal negotiated by [17:15] President Carter, they tried to give the [17:17] Gaza Strip back and the Egyptians [17:19] refused to take it back. [17:21] Okay? So, who's the previous owner of [17:24] the Gaza Strip before Israel had it? [17:26] Before Israel holds it? Well, it ain't [17:27] Egypt. They're gone. They're out of the [17:29] picture. Before Egypt, it was part of [17:30] the Palestine mandate of the League of [17:32] Nations [17:33] that was managed by the British. They [17:35] didn't own it either. Before that, it [17:36] was the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. [17:40] How far back are we going to go? There's [17:42] no sovereign nation that lays claim to [17:44] the Gaza Strip. It's not occupied It's [17:46] disputed territory. That's fair enough. [17:49] But, it's not occupied. Same with the [17:50] with Judea and Samaria. Who owned it [17:52] before Israel took it in 1967? [17:55] Jordan. But, Jordan Jordan [17:58] Jordan Well, Jordan tried to annex it at [18:00] the time. No one recognized it and since [18:02] then Jordan has has formally given up [18:04] their claim to it anyway. They did that [18:05] in early '90s. But, there is no [18:07] sovereign nation that was there before. [18:09] So, whose was it before that? Well, [18:11] between 1948 and 1967, just like Gaza [18:13] with Egypt, it was held by Jordan. [18:15] Before that, British mandate. Before [18:16] that, Ottoman Empire. There is no [18:18] sovereign nation that Israel took it [18:21] from or that lays any claim to it. It is [18:23] not occupied territory. [18:26] It is disputed territory. That is true. [18:29] It is not occupied and therefore, [18:31] there's nothing illegal about building [18:33] towns there. There's nothing illegal [18:35] about Israelis building villages in [18:37] these territories. [18:39] And that's why the Trump administration [18:40] in his first term recognized that legal [18:43] reality and declared that the that the [18:45] official policy of the United States is [18:47] that the settlements are not illegal [18:48] because they're not illegal. [18:52] Okay? So, there's nothing illegal about [18:54] Israel building settlements in the [18:55] northern part of the Gaza Strip. Is it [18:57] wise? That's a debatable point that I [18:59] don't want to get into. [19:01] I think it does increase security. I'm [19:03] fine with it. [19:04] I like what Smotrich is doing, pushing [19:06] the envelope there. But, he's also doing [19:08] it for political reasons, as I said. [19:10] But, on the other hand, diplomatically, [19:11] is it the best look in the world? This [19:13] is all debatable point that's beside the [19:15] point of what I'm saying here. My point [19:17] here is to give you a level set of where [19:18] we are. [19:20] Israel's making progress in the Gaza [19:21] Strip. [19:23] They are making uh they are working on [19:26] figuring out ways to allow more Gazans [19:28] to leave voluntarily. They are working [19:31] on that. [19:32] Hamas is freaking out. Hamas is trying [19:35] to get the Arab world on board and in [19:38] their corner again. They're calling for [19:39] this summit. They're going to Cairo to [19:42] meet with people, but the problem is [19:44] that everyone knows that nothing can [19:46] move forward until they are removed, [19:48] which is why there is a there is a [19:50] nascent protest movement that's trying [19:51] to get off the ground in the Gaza Strip [19:53] that Hamas is brutally repressing. That [19:56] is situation as we have it today with [19:59] Gaza. I hope you found this video [20:01] helpful. [20:03] Please like, share, subscribe, all that [20:04] stuff. And uh we'll keep I'll I'll I'll [20:07] try to keep you as updated as possible [20:09] on all of these stories. God bless.
